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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344101">Round Robin November 2020</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinsrfun10/pseuds/sinsrfun10'>sinsrfun10</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Round-Robin Stories by Month [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amendments, Character Death, Child Death, Day 8 may make you cry, F/M, Gen, Infertility, NaNoWriMo, Original Character(s), Random - Freeform, Rules, Stillborn, Triggers, clauses are rules, crackfic, crazy writers, inspired by three pages of vows in size ten font, originalfic - Freeform, redacted, roundrobin - Freeform, wedding vows</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:53:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>83,178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinsrfun10/pseuds/sinsrfun10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The second month of a round-robin challenge is about: vows!</p><p>There will be writing for all thirty days in November for this challenge. We may stay with one couple or change up couples throughout the story. Who knows?</p><p>As we write, we redact our text. The first chapter of this story is the rules we are writing under. The last chapter of the story will be the full work in its redacted form. </p><p>The round robin writing group consists of Laicolasse, Calenlas, and Sinsrfun10.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>AD Emilia/AD Gregory, Alu'vien/Vales, Corona/Michael, Doran/Lorne, Doryu/Ai, Elsie/Juan, Emilia/Dlaun/Gregory Xoi, Eren/Valcrisi, Erika/James, Erin/Jeff, Felsee/Kath'nar, Ger'anu/Koran, Grace/Michael, Grettia/Matthew, Gwedui/?, Hiro/Villena, Hope/?, Ila Baker/Josiah Baker, Jessie/?, Joe/Rosalita, Lady Rorne/Nile, Lady Scarlet/Mr. Plumb, Lana/Ren, Laurena/Kyle, Leilaniel/Her Lover, Little Bo Peep/Little Boy Blue, Lori/Zin, MC1 (5-year-old), MC10(police officer), MC11 (good mother), MC12 (flying eagle), MC13 (rulebreaker), MC14 (willow tribes), MC15 (cursed), MC16 (hero/villainess), MC17 (witness stars), MC18 (Shalvaroth), MC2 (every vow), MC3 (I hate you), MC4(free will), MC6 (drunk husband), MC7 (nation spirit), MC8 (if you), MC9 (he vowed), Mariana/Rob, Mc5 (great orator), Mela/Nona, Mellanisia/Runguard (book couple), Miss Dish/Sir Spoon, Mysterious Couples (MC), Nalan/Riala, Narrator/Reynold &amp; Narrator/Brionna &amp; Brionna/Reynold, Paige/Whims, Peppa/James, Prince Rianelor Erenevel Lunifever Elsensi Lu Vastian/Trialla Ravelem Crisali Lu Frinsil, Raven/?, Rhea's mother/Rhea's father, Rhea/?, Rionora/Seydon, Risa/Lionel, Rita/Reynold, Rose/farmer, Sally/Steve, Skippy/Smucky, Stephanie Greich/Frian Delsan, Sulan/Lanalia, Sulani/Braxon, Thelor/Anka, Tootsie Andrestin/Brian Johanssing, Zathry/?, Zenli/Raenei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Round-Robin Stories by Month [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Comments made while writing the rules: "We are writing a novel about vows."<br/>Comment made while finalizing the wording of this amendment: "You must add 'a minimum' 'cause otherwise it implies that you can end in the middle of a sentence."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>1. A writer is allowed to black any text she chooses aside from the exceptions stated in Clause 2<br/>
2. A writer is not allowed to black character names or physical descriptions<br/>
a. Amendment: a writer may not block significant world-building details such as but not limited to “The nearest body of water is 50 miles away”<br/>
b. Amendment: Couple first meeting details cannot be blocked<br/>
c. Amendment: Meeting the family must be indicated with a comment if blocked, and the family being met must be noted<br/>
3. The document is shared in order of writing<br/>
4. When "The End" is written, the round-robin writing has come to an end and all writers will review the story<br/>
5. Amendment: “The End” cannot be written prior to November 30, 2020<br/>
6. Order: Laicolasse→ Calenlas → Sinsrfun10 *When you complete your turn, add a comment addressed to the next person (that is their signal to begin writing)<br/>
a. Amendment: Send a text or verbally tell the next writer when it is her turn<br/>
7. This is about Wedding Vows<br/>
8. The first writer to begin writing on a new day must date the document at the location where she begins writing after inserting a page break</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 1 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The beginning of NaNoWriMo and the beginning of our round robin story all about wedding vows. </p>
<p>We begin with Sulani and Braxon and ... a book series?</p>
<p>Day one began fairly strong with 1,084 words...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "I don't have November." "Oh, one sec. Okay, you should have it. I didn't remember and since Calenlas just borrowed my iPad I didn't realize neither of you had access."<br/>"Is Rivers Beyond Time a real series?" "Nope." "No clue."<br/>"I'm proud that I managed to get through this before midnight."<br/>"Is this now a DnD background story?" "No. Well actually the problem with it being a DnD background story comes in the classes of our main characters."<br/>"Okay I adjusted the awkward part. Yeah...I didn't like it when I wrote it either, but after rewriting it six times, I just gave up. Some time away kinda helped."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sulani loved her fiancé dearly, but he sometimes got on her nerves. Right now, was one of those times.</p>
<p>“And then he said-“</p>
<p>“Braxon, I know you love <em>Rivers Beyond Time</em>, but could you tell me about it later?” Her words sounded harsher than she intended, but, at the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care. “I’m trying to focus.”</p>
<p>“Oh, sorry, Lani.” He leaned over her shoulder and she scrambled to hide the papers she was continuously scribbling on then scratching out what she had written. “Whatcha workin’ on?”
</p>
<p>“My vows.” She pushed the pages into the desk drawer. “No peeking.”</p>
<p>“Okay.” He raised his hands up as if in surrender and whispered in her ear. “I won’t peek, <em>vashana</em>.” Ah, that just wasn’t fair. She couldn’t stay frustrated with him when he used her pet name.</p>
<p>It used to annoy her. He would rarely call her by name, more often calling her “<em>vashana</em>” when she didn’t know what it meant. Of course, it didn’t help that it was usually accompanied by a fireball…</p>
<p>Well, that was all in the past. Now she knew that <em>vashana</em> was a term from the old Criaki language developed by the writer of the <em>Rivers Beyond Time</em> series that Braxon was obsessed with. She had always assumed it was some kind of derisive term that meant “idiot,” but it actually meant “burning heart.”</p>
<p>That gave her an idea.</p>
<p>“Go over there.” She instructed Braxon, shoving him toward the couch before returning swiftly to the desk and pulling the papers out again and beginning to write.</p>
<p>
  <em>Ever since the first day you threw a fireball at me…</em>
</p>
<p>No… she scribbled the line out.</p>
<p>
  <em>My heart burns for you.</em>
</p>
<p>She circled the line and made a note to include it somewhere. After thinking for a moment, she also circled the part about fireballs and made the note ‘incorporate’ beside it. She glanced up at Braxon who was being unusually dutifully silent and saw him reading <em>Rivers Beyond Time: The River’s Mouth</em>.</p>
<p>Figures.</p>
<p>He had just finished rereading the series and now he was on the first one again. Well, it was part of what endeared him to her. Oh! Maybe…</p>
<p>Maybe she should <em>actually</em> read the series for the declaration of love she <em>knows</em> is in there. Braxon rhapsodizes about it constantly in preparation for the wedding in a month. They both agreed on a fire-element represented wedding, because how else does a fire-elemental and a mage-sorceress get married? Water? ‘<em>Ooh, that’s another reference to put in-steam!</em>’ Sulani scribbled some more on her vows paper. </p>
<p>Braxon admits he was curious for his <em>vashana</em>’s vows. His vows were simple and sweet. She had already forbade him from using any declarations of love from the <em>Rivers Beyond Time</em> series. He had been writing his vows ever since she began to let him call her <em>vashana</em>. He knew he was in love with Sulani, long before she tolerated him. Although Sulani thought he was rereading <em>River’s Mouth</em>, he was rereading his vows written on a bookmark tucked in his favorite book.</p>
<p>His vows read: “My darling <em>vashana</em>, I vow to you today and evermore that my fire is your fire. I will support, love, honor, and cherish you for as long as we both exist. I will put no other before you. I will help you in your battles and defend you before all others. You are my heart and my fire doesn’t exist without you.”</p>
<p>Braxon didn’t think that Sulani would be impressed with adding any anecdotes from their earlier adventures. She really thought he was annoying back then.</p>
<p> It had never been intentional, on his part, to annoy her, but he struggled to control his fire element at the beginning, and even when he got it under control, she could make him so flustered that fireballs flew everywhere. Typically at her, which in retrospect, might have added to her dislike of him. He was too embarrassed to explain that he shot fireballs at her because he liked her.</p>
<p>The little sounds of frustration and satisfaction Sulani made as she furiously scribbled drew Braxon into a memory of the time they first met. He had been dragged along by his little sister Brilla - a prodigious frost elemental who everyone unceasingly compared him to - to join a group of adventurers recruiting additional members to enter the dungeon that had recently been discovered.</p>
<p>Upon arriving at the designated meeting location, Braxon saw a girl sitting on the edge of the fountain, scribbling furiously on a scrap of parchment. Magic energy pulsed dangerously around her when her forehead crinkled in frustration, yet, when a satisfied smirk settled on her lips, the pulsing changed. Instead of dangerous, it felt strong and controlled - a force to be reckoned with.</p>
<p>“Agh!” </p>
<p>Braxon was pulled out of his memories by a frustrated Sulani scrunching up a wad of paper and tossing it unceremoniously toward the ashtray, muttering a quick incantation, and lighting it on fire.</p>
<p>He chuckled. Sulani had much greater control over her magic now, and it was just like her to turn the paper to ashes rather than risk someone finding out what she had furiously scribbled out - not that anyone but her could make sense of the ciphers she habitually wrote in.</p>
<p>Still, Braxon was confident that Sulani was overthinking her vows, and it was getting to her. Even if that <em>was</em> part of what made her cute, he had to do something.</p>
<p>“You know I’ll marry you no matter what your vows are.”</p>
<p>Sulani turned to look at him from her place at the desk, a lopsided grin spreading across her face. “Even if I write ‘I vow to love you from one ocean to the next?”</p>
<p>Braxon gasped in mock horror. “You wouldn’t!”</p>
<p>“Try me.” Sulani grinned a devilish grin that - on anyone else - would have made Braxon very terrified. On Sulani, however, it just made him happy. That devilish grin meant she was finally relaxing and having fun.</p>
<p>“Then I shall vow to love you in the Ancient Swampland!” He retorted, trying to sound at least a little serious and failing miserably as he laughed through the last half of his sentence.</p>
<p>“The horror!” Sulani humored him, playing along. Then she paused and started waving her hand about in that way that meant she had an idea, and she turned back to the desk, scribbling something down.</p>
<p>
  <em>From ocean to ocean, and even in the Ancient Swampland…</em>
</p>
<p>It could use some work.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>End notes will now be comments we made when we reviewed the total story unredacted. There are parts that are just laughter. We didn't redact a lot of day one. There are whole days that are redacted coming up. Our reactions are... amusing. :-)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 2 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day two! A new couple! Meet Tootsie and Brian, a lovable young couple.</p><p>2,015 words written today.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "I did something..." "...I did something back..."<br/>"Is she named after a tootsie roll?" "I was eating one when I began writing..."<br/>"So what inspired Johanssing?" "I put Johansson and decided I needed something different."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tootsie was classy. Classy enough that he spent days thinking up the best way to propose to her. And even then, he fumbled the ring and stuttered throughout it. His fiancée is amazing, so his vows to her had to be as amazing as she is. Amazing doesn’t happen in a paragraph! His words need to be so magnificent, so amazing that--</p><p>“Brian? Son, what are you still doing up?” Brian’s father asked, his large frame in the office doorway.</p><p>“I had the greatest idea to include in my vows to Tootsie that I just <em>had</em> to write it down. Then, I couldn’t go to sleep,” Brian replied sheepishly.</p><p> “Son, if you weren’t so gone on that girl, her parents would not have approved your courtship and offer of marriage,” his father gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Calm down a little, would ya? I’ve been married to your mama for forty years and I didn’t write a page long of vows. You’re making me look bad,” he said with a chuckle. </p><p>Brian chuckled along with his father and removed himself to his bedroom. He couldn’t wait to make Tootsie his wife. If only her parents hadn’t said that she couldn’t be married before they both were twenty. He sighed and had dreams about his beloved Tootsie the rest of the night.</p><p>Tootsie was arguing with her mother <em>again</em>. About Brian, <em>again</em>. She was tired of telling her mother that she was in love with Brian and no other man, especially a rich one, would ever bridge that gap for her. </p><p>“I am not <em>you</em>, Mother! I will not be arranged in a loveless marriage!” Tootsie glared down at her mother who was sitting placidly in the front parlor of their home. “Why would you agree to the engagement between Brian and I if you keep pestering me to break it off?”</p><p>“I want you to be happy, dahling,” her mother waved her hand around. “Love does not always bring happiness.”</p><p>“I <em>know</em>. Brian and I <em>have</em> had arguments before,” Tootsie replied sullenly. </p><p>“And were those arguments trivial things like what to eat or where to go?”</p><p>“No, they were not. I’ll not tell you anymore because those matters were between my fiancé and I, not you and Father.”</p><p>“Fine, then. Go to bed dahling. You need to be rested to meet the Penningtons in the morning.”</p><p>“Who are the Penningtons again?”</p><p>“One of Father’s friends from university dahling,” her mother paused, and waved her up the staircase. “Go on now, bed.”</p><p>Tootsie had a bad feeling that the Penningtons had a son.</p><p>At about five o’clock in the morning - at least an hour before the sun was up - Tootsie quietly slipped out of the house through the servant’s entrance - the one place she knew her mother would never look for her. She made her way across the long green lawn, white picket fence, and small thicket that separated her home from Brian’s - and the upper-class district from the lower one in her mother’s eyes despite the fact that her exceedingly wealthy grandfather also lived “across the thicket.”</p><p>Tap, tap, tap.</p><p>At the sound of her tossing small pebbles against the window, Brian quickly opened it and looked out.</p><p>“Tootsie!” He waved for her to come in. “What’s wrong? It’s been a whole month since you last snuck over here before the sun was up.”</p><p>“My mother.” Was all Tootsie said as she climbed in through the window looking as graceful as an Elf doing a waltz the entire time - or so Brian thought anyway.</p><p>Once she was in, she glanced around the room. “I see you have cleaned since I was here last.”</p><p>The lilt in her beautiful voice let Brian know she was teasing.</p><p>“Of course.” He puffed his chest out. “Practicing for when it really matters.” He winked.</p><p>Tootsie blushed madly - a very endearing red blossoming on her cheeks. Looking quickly away to hide her embarrassment, her eyes drifted to Brian’s nightstand which, he realized a moment too late, was covered in drafts of his wedding vows.</p><p>“Don’t look, sweetheart! I want them to be a surprise next year when we finally marry,” Brian implored her, turning her away with a hug.</p><p>The hug seemed to last longer than Brian was anticipating, not that it was a hardship to hold Tootsie, but society does dictate moral standards of how long to hold your fiancée without a chaperone present. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Why were you and your mother arguing this time?”</p><p>Tootsie looked like she was steeling herself for a bad reaction from him. Brian wasn’t sure what to think about his love’s nervousness. </p><p>“Mother wants me to break the engagement and find a wealthier man.”</p><p>Brain gazed into Tootsie’s eyes, his arms loosely held around her. “She doesn’t know about my trust does she?”</p><p>“No, and I refuse to tell her!” Tootsie glared at the implications his question brought up. “She keeps framing it like it is both her and Father that want me to break the engagement, but Father has not once talked to me about it. I don’t know what he’s thinking,” Tootsie ended, leaning her head on his shoulder. </p><p>“Have you tried asking him?” Brian gently smoothed Tootsie’s hair down. “Maybe he’ll surprise you in a good way.”</p><p>“But what if he doesn’t?” Tootsie pulled back and looked at him, face crinkled with worry lines.</p><p>“Then we cross that bridge when we get to it.” Brian pulled Tootsie back into a hug. Social propriety didn’t and shouldn’t take priority over making sure Tootsie felt safe and happy. </p><p>He heard a muffled “okay” before Tootise pulled back to look at him. “But I am not going back until the Penningtons leave.”</p><p>Brian chuckled.</p><p>“Very well, Tootsie, very well.”</p><p>Much more relaxed now, Tootsie stretched her arms and yawned. She had, after all, woken up quite early.</p><p>“Time for a nap?” Brian asked with a laugh.</p><p>Playfully punching him in the arm, Tootsie chided, “Tsk tsk, are you inviting an unmarried maiden to your bed?”</p><p>In a voice that told her he was half joking and half serious, he replied, “And what if I am?”</p><p>Tootsie felt the heat in her cheeks.</p><p>“Brian!”</p><p>“Okay, okay.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I was just thinking of going to the office anyway.” He grabbed the papers from the desk. “You nap, and I’ll go do some writing.”</p><p>Tootsie woke up from her nap and the sun was high in the sky. Brain had obviously checked on her because the blanket covered her up to her neck. Her restless sleeping normally kicked it to the bottom of the bed. She smiled, a warmth built in her chest when she thought of how thoughtful and caring her fiancé was. Then how high the sun was caught her attention. She looked for the clock on Brian’s wall. It was one in the afternoon! She drastically overslept. But at least she missed the Penningtons.</p><p>Tootsie flung the blanket back and remade Brain’s bed. She opened his closet door where she knew he put a full-length mirror in just for her and made herself presentable to sneak out of her fiancé’s house. Tootsie creeped out Brian’s door. Looking furtively around, she made her way quietly down the stairs and past the office to go out the side door. She didn’t see anyone on her way out and gave a loud sigh of relief once she was past the porch. </p><p>“Bye Tootsie! I’ll visit with you next time, alright?” Brian’s mother called out, freezing Tootsie in her tracks. </p><p>Tootsie turned slightly and gave a wave back to Mrs. Johanssing and plotted what excuse to give her mother about why she missed the Penningtons. </p><p>“Tootsie Maribelle Andrestin, where in the Lord’s good green earth have you been?!” Right on cue, her mother’s angry shout demanded an answer. Her father, meanwhile, barely looked up from the book he was reading as he sat on the porch swing.</p><p>“I went for a stroll early this morning and decided to take a nap before coming back.” It wasn‘t technically a lie…</p><p>“And you slept right through the visit with the Penningtons! You know how important-”</p><p>“Well, I’m sure she meant to be home on time.” Her father looked up from his book. “Why don’t you let me talk to her for a moment?”</p><p>Tootsie’s mother seemed reluctant to relinquish an opportunity to scold Tootsie, but she nonetheless turned on her heel and marched into the house with a “we’ll speak later.”</p><p>Tootsie’s father sighed once her mother had gone into the house and motioned for Tootsie to sit beside him on the porch. “Now, dear girl, you and I both know your mother means well, but that doesn’t always mean she does well, does it?” He gave Tootsie a knowing look.</p><p>She nodded slightly, not sure if she was really supposed to agree with him or not. She had never spoken much with her father - he was a man of few words most of the time, and the words he deigned to speak were usually not directed at her. In fact, this might be the most words he had ever said to her in one meeting.</p><p>And if that were strange enough, he continued. “Well, I hope Brian and his family were well this morning.”</p><p>“I don’t know what you mean,” she bluffed, hoping the burning in her face didn’t show through her dark complexion.</p><p>Father just looked at her. “Tootsie, I know every time you leave this house. I also know every time you arrive safely at the Johanssing’s house. I am the one that pushed your mother to accept your engagement and <em>I</em> am the one that knows how well off Brian will be next year when you marry.” There was a brief pause. “I was his grandfather’s lawyer and am executor of his will that left everything to Brian.” Father’s mild tone caught Tootsie off guard. </p><p>“You know everything?” Disbelief colored Tootsie’s response.</p><p>“Everything about your fiancé, yes.” He looked at his daughter for a moment. “But clearly not everything that is going on in this house since Brian proposed. Please tell me.”</p><p>Her father’s gentle tone calmed her and made her cry all at once. Tootsie told her father about what Mother was trying to do and how Tootsie feared what would happen anytime a well-to-do family was over. She told him how she thought Mother was going to trap her into looking unfaithful to Brian. Brian, the man that Tootsie had been looking at with stars in her eyes since she first saw him at fifteen. His dark curly hair, his bright shining eyes, his long limbs that he hadn’t quite grown into yet. His kindness, his gentleness, his love for her. She was afraid of what Mother would do.</p><p>Tootsie didn’t see it, but her father was growing more enraged with every word and tear that tumbled from his beloved only child’s lips. He gently moved to hold his daughter in his arms and soothed her. He barely remembered the last hug he gave her and vowed to himself that he would display affection to his beautiful, wonderful, loving daughter more often. Damn what his wife thought of displays of affection. </p><p>When Tootsie had completely calmed down, her father gently hugged her tightly once more and ushered her into the library. He also told her to avoid the area around his study for a while. He didn’t want for her to overhear a long overdue reckoning with her mother. </p><p>Tootsie made her way to the library. She ambled through the familiar aisles of tall shelves. She plucked her favorite story, a romance, from it’s spot and curled up in the loveseat next to the window. The afternoon light was perfect for reading and the book opened to the best part of the story: when the couple were exchanging their vows. They were so heartfelt and sweet. Tootsie knew she wanted her vows to be like that, but could never seem to find the words.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments made while reviewing November: “You’ll notice we were much more proactive in naming this time.” directed at S:</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 3 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day three adds a fictional couple to Tootsie and Brian's story and an additional couple to the round robin: Hiro and Villena!</p>
<p>Less words today with 817 words written for a three day total of 3,916 words.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "Yes, it's meant to be that obviously cheesy."<br/>"Yes I did and I'm proud of myself."<br/>"You should probably be afraid that I am pretty sure I couldn't black anything even though it's the cows...*vows"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘<em>From the moment I first witnessed the moonlight glisten on your hair, I fell in love with your beauty, Mellanisia, and from the first moment my ears were blessed to hear your melodic singing harmonize with the night birds, I fell in love with your voice. This built in me an intense desire to learn more about you, and when you graced me with the chance to know your heart, I realized I was not only in love with your beauty and your voice. I was, am, and will forever be in love with all of you, my Mellanisia.</em>’</p>
<p>Reading Rungaurd’s declaration of his love for Mellanisia inspired Tootsie to try writing her vows for Brian again.</p>
<p>
  <em>My only love, whether we are rich or poor, whether we have everything in the world or nothing, I will be the wealthiest woman alive so long as I have you. I never knew true fear until I faced the thought of losing you, which taught me just how much I need you. We have been through so much together already, and I vow that we will, likewise, go through the rest of what life has to offer side by side, hand in hand, heart in heart.</em>
</p>
<p>It wasn’t everything she wanted to say, but somehow Tootsie knew Brian would understand.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Hiro stood at the end of the aisle, waiting. His goofy smile and fancy outfit would have looked silly on anyone else, but on him… Villena would go so far as to call it charming.</p>
<p>She took a deep breath as the theme song that was her wedding march began to play and took her first step into the room. For the thousandth time, she rehearsed her vows in her mind - chanting them like a mantra to calm herself.</p>
<p>
  <em>When we first met, I wanted to kill you. Now, I cannot imagine my life without you. You are mine, and I will never let you go. I have entrusted my heart to you, so keep it well. For all eternity, we shall be together, and nothing may sunder the bond we seal today.</em>
</p>
<p>Hiro laughed out loud in joy when Villena stated she had wanted to kill him. He heard that every day after she had kidnapped him for ransom. He had quickly escaped several times, but she had intrigued him and so he returned before she knew he was missing.</p>
<p>Most people called him crazy for getting involved with the woman who kidnapped him, but she had only done so out of desperation, and while she threatened to kill him every other time he opened his mouth, she had made sure to feed him as properly as she could and even freed him when a group of bandits attacked her camp instead of abandoning him to their mercy and escaping on her own.</p>
<p>It was right around the time Villena realized she wasn’t getting the ransom (on account of Hiro having already told his mother that he was fine and his father not caring either way) that she had decided to let him go once and for all. That was also the day he proposed… the first time.</p>
<p>It took time and persistence for Hiro to convince Villena to marry him. And his vows would list all the ways he loved her, many more than Villena ever thought of him. </p>
<p>“I love you for your fiery spirit that hated my guts from the first moment we met. I love that fiery spirit for keeping you alive and helping you find happiness. I love that fiery spirit for learning to love me.</p>
<p>“I love the way you chew me out when I mess up, and I love the way you encourage me when I’m down. I love the way you laugh when you are amused and your lopsided grin when you're proud of something you accomplished.</p>
<p>“I love the way you tie your hair back in a ponytail when you’re nervous, and how you let your hair fly free on the wind when you're confident.</p>
<p>“I love the way you blush when you think I’m not looking, and I love the way everything you say is sweet even when it sounds mean at the surface.</p>
<p>“I love that you know your name comes from Village Queen and not Villain, and I love that you do in fact have the bearing of a queen though you don’t realize it yourself.</p>
<p>“I love that you’re probably madly embarrassed by me saying all these wonderful things about you in front of everyone here, and I love that you’ll probably express your embarrassment by telling me to shut up and die.</p>
<p>“I love that when you say ‘shut up and die’ it really means ‘I love you,’ and I love that you only say that to me.</p>
<p>“I love you, Villena, now and forever, and I love that you love me too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>“I was having a biblical moment here.” On a verb correction.</p>
<p>C: “By the way, did you notice this was supposed to be like a villain monologue?” <br/>S: and L: in unison “Yes.”<br/>S: continues “Yes, it’s very much like she grabbed him  ‘you will be mine forever and ever. No one else shall have you! ’”</p>
<p>In regards to evil laughter S: “I do a really good cackle as well.” L: “I do a really good ” S: “That's more like an evil tee hee”</p>
<p>S: “We’re doing it again.” pause. “Why am I not recording?” &lt;= This is in reference to the fact that when Laicolasse, Calenlas, and Sinsrfun10 meet irl, we have to document what we say to each other because we tell each other really great ideas and them forget them later.</p>
<p>C: “By the way, it’s total BS that her name didn’t come from ‘villain.’ It did… Originally”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 4 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Two brand new couples for day three: Ila and Josiah &amp; Riala &amp; Nalan.</p>
<p>Day four continues the trend of less words with 495 as the daily word total and a four day total of 4,411 words.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "So are we just making up new couples every day?" "Sometimes two in a day and at least one carried over." "Seems likely."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Speak now or forever hold your peace,” is a line that many people who attend a wedding tend to ignore and nose their way into a newlywed’s marriage. ‘Seriously,’ Ila thought, ‘people really need to heed that line. I don’t want anyone commenting on my husband’s supposed faults. I honor my vows and will continue to do so until I die,’ her thoughts continued, sighing at another person who traded gossip about her. </p>
<p>Ila was tired of the gossip mill in this town. They outright ignored her and badmouthed a man they hadn’t seen in three years. Josiah had been run out of town after someone spread a rumor that he was seen dancing naked in the forest. Then other people started stepping forward. </p>
<p>The headline for the paper on September 1, 1956 read: “Josiah Baker is a witch.” Ila had been baffled for a minute then started laughing uproariously when she had read that headline. Josiah was a simple man-he had God, his family, and his job. <em>Those</em> were his priorities. Not witchcraft. Ila hadn’t been laughing when the mob outside almost burned the house and her adorable children up. She hadn’t been laughing when Josiah couldn’t honor part of his vows to stay with her. She couldn’t leave. </p>
<p>The town with it’s malicious gossip wouldn’t let her leave. They refused to let her put the house for sale. They refused to let her go past the town border unless she had dropped a rumor that she was visiting family out of town. She wasn’t allowed to honor her long list of vows she made to her beloved Josiah. Ila was furious at this town and it’s people. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It was a quiet ceremony with only the priest, Nalan, and Riala. The church was old and worn, but it still served as God’s house for the few people who ventured so far into the lonely mountains. </p>
<p>Riala wished she could have married Nalan with their family and friends gathered around them. Aunt Marena would have sobbed when Nalan gave his vows to Riala. They were beautiful, and Riala could still hear them echoing in their mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>Riala, my heart, my soul, my life, you complete me in ways I never knew I needed completed before I met you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My heart beats only for you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My soul is made whole by your own.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My life means nothing if it is not spent by your side.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And so I entrust all these - my heart, my soul, my very life - to you now and forever.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>In life, in death, and in the world beyond death where life is everlasting, I am yours.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>This I vow.</em>
</p>
<p>And at the last word he had placed his hand over his heart and knelt before her in the Sinalian symbol of deep loyalty. Then he had risen to his feet and placed a chaste kiss on her lips whispering in her ear the most important words of all:</p>
<p>
  <em>I love you, Riala.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments made while reviewing November:<br/>C: *while reading ‘into the lonely mountains* “Every time I read this, it makes me think of Erebor.”<br/>L: “Yeah, I thought that when I wrote it too.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. 5 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day five puts us back with Sulani and Braxon! And we get their vows...part of them anyway.</p>
<p>Day five total: 1,235 words<br/>Five-day total: 5,646 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "I found an end to Sulani's vows without ending them." "What?! No! Why?!" "It's not a definitive end - you could easily add more."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fire and that element’s colors surrounded the happy couple and their families as they shared their sacred union. One of the things that Braxon didn’t know was that Sulani asked their wedding priestess to let her say her vows last. Sulani knew that Braxon’s vows were going to be heartfelt and wonderful, but she wanted to tell him how much he meant to her. </p>
<p>Sulani was nervous. She didn’t know how long her vows actually were at this point...but they were long. </p>
<p>Braxon held her hands and spoke, “My darling <em>vashana</em>,” He took a deep breath and stared lovingly into her eyes. “I vow to you today and evermore that my fire is your fire. I will support, love, honor, and cherish you for as long as we both exist. I will put no other before you. I will help you in your battles and defend you before all others. You are my heart and my fire doesn’t exist without you.” A tear fell from Braxon’s eye and Sulani reached up and wiped it away with a smile. They smiled lovingly at each other for a moment. A moment too long because the priestess waved a hand to direct Sulani to say her vows.</p>
<p>Sulani breathed deep and pulled the pages of her vows from where she left them resting in her desk. She straightened the pages out, read the first line to herself, and looked directly into her soon-to-be husband’s eyes. She spoke her vows with conviction and meaning. </p>
<p>“From ocean to ocean, and even in the Ancient Swampland, my heart burns for you. It is what you have called me early into our friendship, <em>vashana</em>, burning heart. And that is what my heart does for you. Our love is friendship on fire and you knew that long before I did. Apparently, all of your friends did too. Ever since the first day you threw a fireball at me, we were meant to be.”</p>
<p>Braxon squeezed her hand, the one that he made sure he had a hold of as she began speaking her vows to him. </p>
<p>She paused to smile brightly at him and continued, “I, of course, had immediately thrown water back at the fireball and then we created steam. A most wonderful outcome and another thing with us akin to love. Love cannot be seen, but it can be felt. Love is all around us. It is in the fire and magic that we can wield. It is in our lives with our friends and our families. It is in the way we were meant to be, like your obsession with <em>Rivers Beyond Time</em> and my enduring tolerance for that obsession-” </p>
<p>Everyone laughed at this comment. Everyone in the audience knew that Braxon had multiple copies of the series because he kept rereading them to pieces. He even cried during a quest when they had to flee an area quickly and his copy of the newest book in the series had been left behind somehow.</p>
<p>Sulani waited for the laughter to die down before she finished her thought. “Your obsession with <em>Rivers Beyond Time</em> and my enduring tolerance for that obsession and my willingness to keep repairing your books, just to make you smile.” </p>
<p>Sulani felt tears of pure joy start forming in her eyes. They never made it down her cheeks, though, as Braxon - ever observant - used his fire element to gently heat them and let them be carried away as steam by the gentle breeze.</p>
<p>“I know you will alway have my back, and when it really counts, you will always be there, and I love you for that adamant refusal to leave me alone. If I am your <em>vashana</em>, you are my <em>ransevi ali</em>.”</p>
<p>As she had hoped, Braxon’s eyes gleamed with joy as she said the Criaki phrase which roughly translates to ‘soul’s light’ - she had spent hours researching to find that term.</p>
<p>“The greatest light in my life,” she continued, trying not to cry too much, “and the greatest comfort has always been and will always be you. It was you who showed me a way out of the darkness that I had been caught in, you who helped me refine magic control - largely because I had to keep stopping you from setting the world on fire around me -“ She paused as Braxton interjected with an ‘I couldn’t help it’ kind of shrug, “and it was you who taught me what love really means.”</p>
<p>At this point, Sulani considered whether she should continue and try the patience of everyone who had gathered here to celebrate their wedding and finish the lengthy vows which might very well take her until dawn the next day to finish. And she decided to finish because Braxon deserved it. He deserved hearing <em>exactly</em> how precious and wonderful he is and everyone that knows them deserves to hear why Braxon is so perfect to her.</p>
<p>“Love is ever-patient and forgiving, even after burning my favorite shirt twice. Love is kind, as you have always been and continue to show me how to be. Love is not envious or jealous, though I have envied your unending capacity to love <em>anything and everything around us</em>. Even the dog that you keep swearing followed you home one day. That dog hates me, but I love it because you love it. Love is not loud; it is in every action that you do and I recognize and see your love in everything you ask me to try. By the way, I’m on page 53 of book two.”</p>
<p>Braxon’s eyes grew wide because Sulani knows he remembered her promise to never read the series, but now she has.</p>
<p>“I know I promised to never read it, but I started it and I understand you a little bit better now. And I love you all the more for it,” she smiled at him, wide and lovingly. She then had to glance at her pages to remember where she left off in her vows. “I’m at…” she muttered quietly, earning herself a chuckle from both Braxon and the priestess. </p>
<p>“Love is not proud, you have done some crazy things for me that I won’t tell here because I promised you your mother will never find out about them. Love is not rude, although your fireballs were. Love does not look to gain, but looks to be. Love is protection through the good and the bad. Love is the truth and the bedrock of life. And love is a long flame that I never want to lose.” </p>
<p>Sulani felt the air starting to heat up around her in the tell-tale signs of a fireball starting to form. Somehow it was comforting to know she could still affect Braxon like that. She took a moment to mutter a quick incantation to keep the fireball from causing any real damage.</p>
<p>As she glanced back at the page she was on, she laughed because the fireball came at the perfect time. “Love is helping each other to grow such as how your constant immolation of things around me made me a better magician. Thanks to you I am a veritable expert in controlling water and flames.”</p>
<p>Sulani’s vows went on like this for hours, and Braxon loved every minute of it. He also decided that Sulani would make a killing as a monologist and a comedian if she ever got bored of being a magician.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments made while reviewing November:<br/>“What here follows is three pages of laughter.”</p>
<p>C: On losing a book “I would have cried too”<br/>S: “Yeah, me too.”<br/>L: “Me three.”</p>
<p>After “she had spent hours researching to find that term” C: “I spent hours thinking to come up with that term”<br/>L: “I gave her that term.”<br/>C: “Yes, without a meaning. *rolls eyes* So helpful.”<br/>L: “Well, I didn’t want to define it. I just thought it would be cool.”</p>
<p>S: “And yes, I did have Corintheans 13 out while I was writing this”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. 6 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Back to Ila and Josiah and a bit of adorable thrown in here. </p>
<p>Day six total: 376 words<br/>Six-day total: 6,022 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "By the by, that was an awesome and beutiful and amazing and wonderful and all the similar words used in A_________'s story. I almost cried reading it." "Uh...?" "...Maybe Calenlas wrote it?" "Maybe?" "...it's in Ila's vows." "Calenlas wrote the last of them.... I haven't seen it since I sent it to you this morning." "Oh yeah, I did that. Thank you. *blushing smile*"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ila wrote down her and Josiah’s vows. His were simple, he would love, honor, and cherish her, he would remain faithful and true, and he would be by her side until death part them. </p>
<p>Their oldest, a bright-eyed little boy loved to hear what Mommy promised Daddy. Ila would retrieve the carefully framed pages, all six of them, and help her son read what she wrote six years ago. Little Nathaniel had most of the first page memorized because of how often they read them together. Nathaniel not only learned how to read with the Bible, but also the beautiful curves of Ila’s promise to God and Josiah for her marriage. </p>
<p>“I promise to love you forever and always. I promise that even when you grow old and withered, I will be with you, and even if you die, I will hold you in my heart. I promise to laugh at your corny jokes every time you tell them.</p>
<p>“I promise to care for you and any children we are blessed with. I promise that I will not walk before you as if to lead or behind you as if to follow but rather to walk always at your side, hand in hand, heart in heart. I promise to be your best friend as well as your lover. I promise that my heart is yours now and forever. I promise to hold your heart tenderly and to keep it safe.</p>
<p>“I promise that as we are bound today by God’s holy words, we shall be forever two in one, inseparable no matter how great the earthly distance between us may seem. I promise I will always be as close to you as your breath when it hits your hand as you hold it before your face. I promise we will forever look up into the night sky and see the same moon. I promise that my heart and soul will always accompany you even when my body cannot. I promise that if I die before you, I will prepare a place for you in heaven and wait for you to join me. I promise that if you die before me, I will still remain faithful to you and will one day rejoin you at your side.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No reviewing comments for day six's writing.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. 7 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Uh-oh. Something happened with the beautiful vows Tootsie wrote.</p>
<p>Day seven total: 334 words<br/>Seven-day total: 6,356 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "Help. I need a cat's name and all I can think of are direct rip-offs of Dragon Age." "Music. Obviously."<br/>"Forget that old my dog ate my homework line, my cat ate my vows!"<br/>"I remember writing Tootsie's vows before, but I don't remember what I wrote, and since I blacked them I can't check. It's rather poetic then that I had the cat eat the old vows since Tootsie can't look back at them either."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tootsie’s father found her scratching something out furiously at the desk. </p>
<p>“What did that writing ever do to you?” he asked, looking over her shoulder.</p>
<p>“What? Oh,” Tootsie relaxed, startled from her deep concentration on her vows. “I’m working on my vows, Father. I know Brian has his pretty much done already. I want to get mine close to finished so that I don’t have to worry about them anymore.” She craned her head back to look at him. </p>
<p>He chuckled and patted her head. “Tootsie, you’ll worry about them every second until your wedding day, even if you finish them now.” He smiled gently. “Do they sound good? Do they really say what I want to say? But on your wedding day, when you’re standing at the altar holding each other’s hands, even if you haven’t written a single word of your vows before then, you’ll know what to say.”</p>
<p>Tootsie smiled back at her father. “I had them done.” She laughed. “And I knew Brian would understand them even though they didn’t say everything, but then I thought of something to add last night, and I decided to try it.” She looked down at the scratched out text on her desk and sighed. “It sounded better before.”</p>
<p>“So use the ones from before.” Her father counseled. “At the end of the day, what matters most is your feelings for Brian - and I know how strong those are.”</p>
<p>Tootsie sighed. “I can’t.”</p>
<p>“Why not?”</p>
<p>“The cat ate them.”</p>
<p>Tootsie’s father laughed. “The <em>cat</em>?”</p>
<p>Tootsie blushed. She knew how it sounded. “No, really. I had put the vows I had already written and some paper on the desk, and then Music came in, and I didn’t think anything of it until I realized he was in one of those moods, and he had launched himself onto the desk and was clawing at the papers, and then as if in protest of me trying to pick him up, he stuffed the vows in his mouth.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>By the way, Music refers to a friends character in DnD. Music is from a cat race (I don't remember the name offhand right now) who believes she is a God. Thus why a cat eating vows and generally sidetracking all plans needed to be named Music.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. 8 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Finishing off Music's arc... </p><p>Day eight begins the tale of Ren and Lana, warning it is a tearjerker. It also begins Joa and Rosalita and Leilaniel with Her Lover.</p><p>Day eight total: 2,690 words<br/>Eight-day total: 9,046 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "Writing stories with a migraine leads to bad things." "Uh-oh" "It's a real tear-jerker." "I'm scared. I haven't been scared about this story until today." "I'm laughing from what you said but crying at the same time while working on the story. "Oh man... Now, I'm terrified."<br/>"Laicolasse to you...I may have made it worse."<br/>"*sobbing uncontrollably* That's not fair! It's too sad!" "You started it. It's your fault." "Yes, I blame Laicolasse for this one."<br/>"Back to you Sinsrfun10 *said while choking back sobs*"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Father was laughing so hard he was wheezing. “Goes to show that Music is indeed your mother’s cat,” he panted, still laughing weakly.</p><p>Tootsie’s chuckle had joined in. “Just my luck, right? Mother interfering with my engagement and her cat shreds my vows. C’est la vie, no?”</p><p>Tootsie saw her father straighten up, face serious-looking, “Your mother will no longer interfere. I can’t help with Music; he’s a force of nature.”</p><p>Tootsie leaned into Father for a hug. She just remembered why she enjoyed his hugs. She didn’t want him to stop again. Hugs are one reason why she knows her fiancé will be a wonderful father. </p><p>***</p><p>Tears dripped down Ren’s face in never-ending rivers of grief as he held Lana’s cold hand. A thousand little memories swirled in his mind. Their first meeting. Their first time he asked her on a date. The first time she said yes. The first time she hugged him. So many firsts, so many seconds, so many thirds and fourths and fifths. </p><p>Now the lasts.</p><p>It was supposed to be a happy day. The tears were supposed to be full of joy, not grief. Vows meant for the wedding day would now become a eulogy.</p><p>Her last words echoed in his mind:</p><p>
  <em>I vow to love you forever, even in death.</em>
</p><p>Ren choked back a sob and placed a chaste kiss on Lana’s cold forehead. He had always wondered why the traditional vows said “til death do us part” when love could transcend death. He knew for a fact that when Lana said “even in death,” she meant it. She was still loving him - her death could not end that. And he still loved Lana as well.</p><p>“For all time, I will love you.” He spoke his vows in the silent room, knowing Lana would be listening from heaven. “I will cherish you and hold you in my heart even should death part us momentarily.” He had meant that line for when one of them had died of old age - not this. He had not wanted to lose her like this.</p><p>After taking a breath to compose himself, he continued. “I will honor you, treasure you, and cherish you all the days of my life, and all the days after I have passed from this life to the next.” He paused - this had been the end of the vows he had written, but there was something more he needed to say. </p><p>He just had to find the words.</p><p>Ren thought back to how he and Lana met. It was a joyous occasion, he had just been declared a mage-knight and pledged his fealty to his sovereign. Lana had come as a Lady-in-waiting to his sovereign queen. He looked up from kneeling and was lost in Lana’s eyes. She later told him he looked like he had been hit repeatedly in the face to be so dazed by her appearance. </p><p>They were formally introduced at the feast and Ren was not as twitterpated by Lana’s smile. She was noble-born. Ren worked hard and proved his loyalty to gain admittance into training as a knight. It was discovered rather early in his training that he could also become a mage. He was apprenticed under the most successful mage-knight in the realm and was her only apprentice to be successfully knighted as a mage and a knight on the same day. </p><p>Lana was fascinated by the new mage knight. His look of confusion and wonder every time he looked at her was intriguing. She had wanted to know why he looked at her in such awe. </p><p>Lana didn’t know this, but Ren saw a glimpse of his future when he first looked into her eyes. He saw her in a beautiful gown in front of a small gathering and his master officiating a ceremony between them. He saw his wedding to her. And he knew he would make this future a reality by getting permission to court her. </p><p>Even now, in the destruction of his foreseen wedding, he would do everything all over again to have just a few more moments with his precious Lana.</p><p>As the tears continued sliding down his cheeks, Ren began the final addition to his vows.</p><p>“I vow that I will bring the peace to this nation that you so desired, and, when at last this is done, I will rejoin you at your side. I know you would not want me to rush after you now, so I will carry your smile and your love in my heart until the day that I can see you again.”</p><p> With these final words, Ren rose from where he had knelt over his young wife’s body - oh how bittersweet that he could now call her wife and yet could call her no more! How tragic that the pure white dress which proclaimed the sanctity of their vows was now stained red with blood!</p><p>Drawing his sword from its sheath which he had worn as regalia, Ren entered the battle which waged on around him, casting as he did so a spell of concealment on Lana’s body until he could return to give her a proper burial.</p><p>His sword cut and cast against the many enemies who dared ruin his most precious day and love. He cast and cut until there were no more enemies to fight. The arch of flowers that he and his bride had stood under was still there, blood staining the once-white petals red. Ren felt a familiar hand rest upon his shoulder.</p><p>“Master,” he intoned, asking a question, and showing his respect for her all at once.</p><p>“It is done. We will seek the sovereign’s council and find out who dared attack a wedding.” Her dark eyes lit with a familiar spark of rage fire twinned in his own eyes. “The originators of the attack are cowardly and will be dealt with,” she paused. “After we lay her to rest. Your Lana deserves an honorable burial.”</p><p>Ren nodded, his throat too choked for words. His master echoed his last vow to Lana. His master knew his wife well. This was to be the public wedding of a lady and mage-knight in the court. They had been handfasted for a month before this day. Lana refused to let him call her his wife until the public gathering. He had thought of her as his wife after the moment she accepted his offer. His master knew they had been handfasted before the queen. Only the sovereign, his master, and the happy couple knew that they were handfasted. Today was supposed to be the day of public declarations of vows. The insurrectionists would learn that a wedding was not a time to attack. They would learn quickly how deadly two mage-knights could be when there was fire lit from within. The insurrectionists learned their manners about honor and attack. </p><p>***</p><p>
  <em>And I vow to strive every day to make you as happy as I was when you finally said yes after the forty-seventh time I asked you to marry me.</em>
</p><p>Joe paused for a moment. His vows were starting to sound… well he wasn’t sure what they sounded like at this point. He had thought about starting them over a thousand times, or taking out some of the weirder bits, but every time he started to cross something out or crumple a page, he hesitated.</p><p>So what if his mother thought he was insane, or his father-in-law wanted to wring his neck. These were <em>his</em> vows for <em>his</em> wife, and he was going to say them his way because even if it had taken longer than he hoped, and even if she had dated six other guys first, and even if she almost married one of them, in the end, she chose <em>him</em>.</p><p>And right on cue his lovely fiancée strode into the room, took one look at the vows he was writing, and laughed out loud. “Pa is going to kill you when you say that.”</p><p>“I know.” Joe grimaced. “Think I should change it?”</p><p>“Then <em>I’d</em> kill you.”</p><p>He knew she wasn’t bluffing; one does not become the foremost assassin in the guild by bluffing. Luckily, <em>he</em> was the only one in their respective families that knew about her job. Everyone else thought that she was the foremost expert on medicine in the guild. While this <em>was</em> true, she rarely used this skill for healing. His father-in-law believed that she was marrying down. She was, but not as far down as his father-in-law thought. </p><p>Joe was the Guild Historian. It was a prestigious job that was not widely respected in the guild. Joe knew what power his position wielded as did his precious Rosalita. He knew guild secrets that needed to be kept safe, like who the guild assassin was. The best part of his knowledge is that he began courting her <em>after</em> and <em>during</em> her apprenticeship. Of her seven relationships, <em>he</em> was the only one to know her true story. ‘Oh, I’ll add that part too!’</p><p>As he scribbled down the next addition to his vows, Rosalita laughed and placed a quick kiss on his brow. “Should I be expecting your vows to be entered in the Guild Archives?”</p><p>“Obviously!” Joe replied automatically. “Yours will be too - in the Highly Classified section of course.”</p><p>Rosalita gave him a strange look. “Just what are you expecting me to say?”</p><p>“I’m afraid that’s classified.” Joe teased. After Rosalita punched his shoulder, he decided to tell her the real reason.</p><p>“All vows are entered into the Archives. Any vow of service, marriage, alliance, all are entered so they can be looked up and held against any oathbreakers. I mean, it <em>is</em> how you exited your last betrothal.” He looked at her with deep mirth in his eyes. “Your parents promised too much to your suitor and could not honor it. That’s why your father disdains me so much. I refused to deal with him in the matters of marriage. I am pledging my troth to you, not your father.”</p><p>Rosalita laughed. “I had not been sure of what exactly had happened to Merianas and his suit. I was gone on a training mission for two months and when I returned I had no suitor and a furious father for my prolonged absence.”</p><p>“That absence showed how much you wouldn’t be a high society wife for Merianas to have clutching at his arm. He refused to ‘have a woman that stayed away from the hearth so long.’ Direct quote from his lawsuit about false promises by your father.”</p><p>“Lawsuit?” She asked, her dark eyebrow arched high on her forehead.</p><p>“After three weeks, Marianas filed. He claimed that your father promised that you would be a devoted wife and never far from home. He also claimed that your father never actually told him what role you play in the guild. If he had known, Marianas would have never tried to court you.” Joe looked at Rosalita, his lips perched in an ugly sneer. “He highly respects the title of Medicine Woman but refuses to wed one because of how often she is called away from the city.” He chuckled darkly. “You remember that he married less than a month after he canceled his suit?” Rosalita nodded in confusion. “He was <em>forced</em> to marry her. He got her pregnant while he was courting you. When you were gone for three weeks, he realized he couldn’t marry you to save himself from marrying <em>her</em>. He now has a gaggle of children he didn’t want and a wife that will never leave him alone.”</p><p>Rosalita joined her fiancé in chuckling darkly. “Good to know I don’t need to get revenge.” </p><p>“I already did that. He had been seeing her long before his courting of you. He entered into a verbal contract. The Archives see and record all. He made a vow and the Archives made sure he would honor it.”</p><p>Rosalita was awed by how much honor resided in Joe. She knew of his faithfulness, his steadfastness, now she knows what he will do for honor. She was never so happy that she accepted until right now. Learning about her Joe made her lean in and grab his face for an intense kiss. It left them both breathless.</p><p>Joe’s tone was dark and hungry. “I promised you that we would both enter the marriage chamber chaste. Don’t make me break my promise.”</p><p>***</p><p>If you had told her three hundred years ago that she would be riding on the shoulder of the oldest shepherd of trees in Ranvail dressed in the traditional sprout-green robes signifying new beginning and growth that her people had worn to wed their spouse for millennia while writing the vows she would declare to the mortal she fell in love with once she saved his hide from the fools who dared kidnap him, Leilaniel would have thought you were beyond insane. </p><p>She loved the forest and respected the shepherds of trees, but her fear of heights coupled with their normally exceedingly slow nature caused her to balk at the idea of riding on a shepherd of trees. Thankfully, Frawnpip had agreed that this was a situation in which being hasty was called for, and her intense focus on writing her vows distracted Leilaniel from how high up she was...mostly. </p><p>While Leilaniel appreciated the traditions of her people, she had always thought that if she were to get married - something she had not expected to ever choose to do - she would break tradition and wear her golden armor. Considering that her armor had been first crushed by a droofenful, then dropped in a tar pit, and finally doused in highly concentrated acid, that wasn’t going to be an option. The traditional robes were at least better than her travel-worn leggings and blood-stained tunic.</p><p>Of course, having fallen in love with a mortal was far beyond Leilaniel’s predictive ability. She held nothing against mortals; however, unions between mortals and her people were exceedingly rare, and when they did occur, those of her people left behind by mortal spouses were never the same. Some even watched their children grow old and die because they had inherited mortality from their mortal parent. The grief Leilaniel had witnessed her own dear aunt suffer was terrible. She had sworn to never let herself face the same, yet here she was. Love knew no bounds, and even if the time they had together would be brief, less than a hundred years, she would treasure every second of it. She would also make sure the kidnappers learned what it meant to steal even a second away from her time with her love.</p><p>At the edge of a small clearing in the forest, Frawnpip set her down with a harrumph right in front of her waiting lover and the three dozen or so knuckleheads who kidnapped him.</p><p>“You’re late.” Was all her cocky lover said when he caught sight of her.</p><p>“Sorry to keep you waiting, my dear.” Leilaniel replied before being rudely interrupted by the leader of the bandits.</p><p>“Hand it over then.” The rough voice of a man who thought himself very wise when he was, in fact, quite foolish grated against her ears.</p><p>“You may have it.” Leilaniel drew a glowing green jewel from her clothes and tossed it to the greedily waiting man.</p><p>Foolish mortals and their greed. Always wanting what they should not possess. The heart of the forest was indeed very powerful - this is why the bandits sought it, why her lover had sought it before he met her and betrayed his king after learning the truth. But the bandit leader would not learn. He ignored her warnings, and now he had taken that which was most precious to her. So she would let him have it, yes. She would let him learn the hard way what his greed would bring him.</p><p>The heart of the forest - this <em>gem</em> as he called it - would be his doom.</p><p>“Leilaniel,” her lover watched from where he knelt with hands bound, “you-”</p><p>Before her lover could finish his thought, <em>it</em> began.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments made while reviewing November:</p><p>C: “Admission here. I wanted to write ‘C’est la vie’ earlier but couldn’t remember how to spell it, so I was really happy when you added it.”<br/>S: “I had to look it up.”</p><p>RE Ren C: “This was the migraine!” Both C: and S: look accusingly at L:</p><p>S: “I think I blacked that.”<br/>C: “Yes you did. Evil! Evil woman!”<br/>S: “And I think I blacked out foreseeing too.”<br/>C:<br/>A moment later C: “I blacked that.”</p><p>S: “I meant to explore this story more, but… then I got stuck on Peppa.”</p><p>S: “And she blacked that!”<br/>L: overhears and looks up innocently. “What?”<br/>C: “At least she told us beforehand.”<br/>S: “She did. She did warn us.”<br/>L: still blinking innocently.</p><p>L: “Legolas moment?”<br/>C: “Yes.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. 9 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We have some more from Joe and Rosalita... and we see some familiar characters from October appear... </p>
<p>Day nine total: 565 words<br/>Nine-day total: 9,611 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this: <br/>L: "I was responsible for most of our fourth wall breaks before, so I had to keep up the trend."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rosalita backed off at Joe’s dark tone. From the conversation they were just having, she understood how important promises were to the Historian. People didn’t know this, but the Guild Assassin position is most known for killing off Historians. It was another reason why their match was so rare and treasured by the Guild Leader. A married Historian lived far longer than an unmarried one; same was true for an Assassin. </p>
<p>Joe knew his history. He’d been sneaking into the Archives since he was young. He didn’t know it then, but the Archives knew he would be the Historian. The Archives also <em>helped</em> with his fascination with Guild Assassins and led him to Rosalita. Joe had been looking at Rosalita long before she was picked to apprentice to the former Guild Assassin. He admired her strength, her courage, her brain, and her beauty. She was beautiful inside and out.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Emilia was nervous as she wrote her vows out. ‘I love you when my memory fades. I love you through dimensional travel and red button pushing. I loved you when you fumbled at my feet with a ring and couldn’t form the words.’ Now what else can I put that isn’t classified?</p>
<p>Emilia thought back on the adventure she had with her fiancé Greg and her once most annoying student Samantha. Not for the first time, she wished she had believed Dr. Lenox when he told her his story in the hospital. It would have saved her a lot of trouble. At the same time, though, traveling through dimensions, losing her memory, and facing multiple near death experiences had made her relationship with Greg stronger. Getting to know Samantha better had also been a good thing.</p>
<p>Back to the vows… Well, making a list always helped Emilia to sort out her thoughts.</p>
<p>1. Boxes - I love you more than you fear closed wooden boxes<br/>2. Nightmare - I love you when you whisper sweet nothings to drive away my nightmares<br/>3. Monkeys - I loved you even when I studied monkeys (well technically that was AD Emilia and she loved AD Greg, but it counts, right?)<br/>4. Creepy - I loved you even when you said I looked creepy<br/>5. Samantha - I love you more than Samantha obsesses over her hot pink buck knife.</p>
<p>The last point was a little odd, but for some reason, Emilia had been ending every list she made with Samantha ever since the dimensional travel incident. It was almost like she was a character in a novel and the writer decided that ending every list with Samantha was one of her quirks.</p>
<p>Looking up from the paper she had been writing on, Emilia spotted Greg coming into the lab and carefully avoiding debris as he went. The lab was still undergoing repairs, but at least it was usable now… mostly.</p>
<p>“How’s the experiment going, Em?” Greg kissed her on the cheek.</p>
<p>Before he could look down at her notes, Emilia quickly picked them up and stuffed them in her lab coat pocket.</p>
<p>“These aren’t for the experiments. They’re my vows, and before you ask, no you can’t peek.”</p>
<p>Greg chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. “I won’t peek, Em. I swear. I just came in to tell you that Samantha chose her bridesmaid’s gown.” He paused, looking like he was trying to find the right words to deliver the next bit of information.</p>
<p>“It’s hot pink, isn’t it?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments made while reviewing:<br/>S: pointing at L: “It was her that brought them in.”<br/>C:  “It was!”</p>
<p>S:  she could not finish reading the sentence due to laughter due to fourth wall breaks.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. 10 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Another new couple: Erin and Jeff!</p>
<p>Day ten total: 149 words<br/>Ten-day total: 9,760 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "Tabled proposal for AD February that we didn't mention: ____ _______.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“A man once vowed to make his wife pizza every day, isn’t that crazy?” She asked him, looking at the ring he had just put on her finger.</p>
<p>“Interesting,” he responded, not really paying attention to his new fiancée’s remarks on vows. All the chef knew was that their dessert was going to be an excellent cherry on top of this engagement sundae. He had been planning and practicing for some time now to make sure he got it right, and it was spectacular.</p>
<p>“A woman once vowed she would divorce her husband if he didn’t bring her coffee every day.” She prattled on. “That’s legal in Saudi Arabia, you know.”</p>
<p>“Oh?” It was just like Erin to know something like that. She liked to look up strange laws. She knew, for instance, and had imparted to him, that it is illegal to throw rocks at trains in Wisconsin.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No more reviewing comments until the 15th...There is a reason for this and no, I won't tell you what it is.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. 11 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We have Erin and Jeff once more and one-half of a new couple...Lori seems off...</p>
<p>Day 11 total: 152 words<br/>11-day total: 9,912 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Note by Sinsrfun10: I began yesterday (10 November) by writing about a vow. I couldn't remember if we had actually specified wedding vows. I scrolled all the way up to the rules and discovered we did.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Erin knew that Jeff wasn’t listening. He never listened when dessert was on its way. She knew he had been entertaining thoughts about this restaurant’s desserts for weeks now. She didn’t realize that one of the reasons was to ensure the best dessert to go with their successful engagement. Erin knew one of her vows was going to be a pointed one about listening. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Lori wondered whether she was being a little too protective of her vows. Writing them in a cipher with invisible ink that relied on a special magical signature to make it visible and hiring a whole agency to guard them after sealing them in a chest, putting an arcane lock on it, then locking that in a safe inside a castle guarded by only the people she trusted the most was perfectly understandable, of course, but this last addition to security might be a little over the top</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. 12 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We meet Lori's other half-Zin!</p>
<p>Day 12 total: 319 words<br/>12-day total: 10,231 words</p>
<p>We broke 10,000 words! Yay!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "This couple has problems." "Yeah...they definitely have problems." "I'm not sure if it's trust issues or a really, really strong competitive nature." "A mix of both, maybe?"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Then again, if she didn’t do at least that much, then Zin would definitely find and read them before the wedding. And she wanted to surprise him.</p>
<p>Okay, yes, a small part of this was payback for the amount of trouble she had to go through to find him during his proposal. Yes he had left clues in a lot of places, and they were very good clues, but they still required the completion of exceedingly difficult tasks that made the time she conquered Hell seem like a walk in the park.</p>
<p>Not that hell wasn’t unlike a walk in the park. Broken sidewalks, screaming and running and laughing. A hot sun that beat down on you because there was no shade. A merry-go-round that refuses to stop.</p>
<p>Zin was a crafty and complicated man. She didn’t doubt that he was guarding his vows with a similar zeal.</p>
<p>Now, the infrared sensors and night vision goggles were all distributed and monitored. Zin’s name, rank, and serial number were known and flagged on the watch list. Zin sympathizers had been routed out. Iris scanners, number locks, fingerprint locks, and passcodes had all been established and/or installed. Voice recognition was prepared. What else still needed to be completed?</p>
<p>Right! There needed to be an anti-magic barrier outside of the range of the magical locks but inside of the guarded area. Oh, and while she was at it, there should be a nonmagical barrier… maybe an electric fence.</p>
<p>She sighed. The real issue was that Zin could use mind-reading on her and learn exactly what she had written unless she was willing to have her memory of her own vows erased. And while she and Zin had mutually agreed to not use mind-reading on each other, she knew from her personal consideration of breaching that agreement that he just might do it.</p>
<p>Maybe she could have him sign a blood pact?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. 13 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A peek at Jeff and Erin</p>
<p>Day 13 total: 76 words<br/>13-day total: 10, 307 words</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeff knew that Erin thought he wasn’t listening to her. He was; he just had the enviable ability to split his thinking, not that anyone truly believed him. He loved and hated this ability in equal measure. </p>
<p>“Yes Erin, we definitely should have a raspberry chocolate layer for our wedding cake. I don’t agree with the purple, but let me see what shade you have in mind for the vests.”</p>
<p>Erin’s jaw dropped and Jeff laughed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. 14 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day 14 total: 0 words<br/>14-day total: 10, 307 words</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Unfortunately, Laicolasse and Calenlas both had homework to work on that prevented them from writing today.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. 15 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We meet Sally and Steve. Sally saw Steve sing. (This is a hint and warning about this chapter. I'll not say more.)</p>
<p>Day 15 total: 311 words<br/>15-day total: 10,618 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "To you Sinsrfun10, because I don't want to write Sally's vows." "Heheheheh *devil emoji*" "I blame Laicolasse for this one." "This time, I take full responsibility." "Laicolasse to you ... I helped." "...I'm scared."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everyone knew that Sally sold seashells by the seashore. However, few people knew anything else about her. He was one of those few people. He would come to the seashore where Sally sold her seashells every Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes, Sally saw him sewing sacks when she arrived at the seashore to sell seashells. </p>
<p>At first, he would engage Sally with idle chatter about little things - the color of the sky, the smell of salt from the sea that lapped against the seashore where Sally sold her seashells. Sometimes, he brought a songbook and sang sad songs or sang silly songs, or sang happy songs. </p>
<p>After several years of simple Saturdays and Sundays, Sally selling her seashells by the seashore while they spoke about silly somethings or while he sang some songs, he asked her to meet him for supper at Sunny Samson’s Saloon.</p>
<p>Sally said yes.</p>
<p>And to this sunny Saturday selling seashells at the seashore while he sews sacks at her side, Sally still says that saying yes to meeting for supper at Sunny Samson’s Saloon was a super decision. That supper at Sunny Samson’s Saloon was the first of so many suppers spent sitting side by side. And that supper at Sunny Samson’s Saloon led to one special supper in the sixth summer since Sally met him while selling seashells at the seashore. During that special supper in their sixth summer, he asked Sally to marry him. </p>
<p>And Sally said yes.</p>
<p>Sally sometimes sits on a Sunday evening after she finishes selling seashells by the seashore and spends time recalling the special vows she said on her wedding day.</p>
<p>They were stupendous, silly, sassy, special, sweet, strong, and sincere. Sally swore herself to Steve and Steve swore himself to her. The day she became Sally Susan Steppans Schwartz was a day that she will always be sappy about.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments made while reviewing November:<br/>S: sighs before reading` November 15th and glares at L:.<br/>L: *self-satisfied grin* “Oh, what did I do on the 15th?”<br/>S: “Sally.”<br/>L: “Oh yeah. *self-satisfied grin* I did.”</p>
<p>S: “This was her too!” points at L: accusatorially. “Though I learned my lesson from October. I made sure that I would sometimes wait to send it at 11:59 so that I wouldn’t have to start a new day. ‘Cause we all know that most of my [writing] days start at 4:00 [p.m.] because I’m working.”<br/>C: “I do that too - though that’s not why I pass it then. I just like to mess with you.”<br/>S: “That’s true. You do do that to me a lot.”</p>
<p>`When we review our round robin, we take turns reading the story out loud and fixing any corrections that need to be made. This month we rotated by couple. 'S' alliterations are fun to write, not fun to read.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. 16 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A confused narrator (and writers) plus some other fun with Leilaniel and the new characters, Felsee and Kath'nar!</p><p>Day 16 total: 2,719 words<br/>16-day total: 13,337 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: "Okay, it's to you. And, no, you don't need anything that's blacked out." "I'm scared." "You should be. It's basically two and a half pages of black. You're welcome."<br/>"*scared noises*"<br/>"What the?!"<br/>"Okay, that's adorable"<br/>"Lots of alliteration there Laicolasse." "Hmm. Oh for Sally?" "And Rose and Reynold. Sorry, read that wrong. My bad." "...uh yeah. That was totally intentional..." "Very true."<br/>"...uh...miss narrator is the one who was marrying Reynold. She was telling an entirely unrelated story that was part of her "vows" before the voice told her no and made her try again." "That was unclear with the 2.5 pages of blacked text." "Yeah..." "I changed your dynamic completely. Sorry not sorry." "My bad. Um... Hmmm. Trying to figure out how to address this issue... Well, I'm just going with it's a different Reynold." "Well if there can be two Samanthas, there can be two Reynolds."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A long, long, long, long, lo-</p><p>“Get on with it!”</p><p>Ehem. Right. A long time ago, there lived a beautiful princess in a golden castle with tall towers. The towers were extremely tall, so tall that they reached the sky. Standing at the top of one of the towers, one might even think the towers were so tall th-</p><p>“Get on with it!”</p><p>Ah, yes. Tall towers. Anyway, the princess was saddened by the loss of her father who was a very, very, ve-</p><p>“I won’t warn you again, Mr. Narrator.”</p><p>It’s Miss Narrator.</p><p>“Fine. Miss Narrator. Last warning: Get on with it!”</p><p>Yes, yes, all right. The king - the princess’s father - was a very nice and compassionate man, so she was sad when he died. The end.</p><p>“That isn’t the end.”</p><p>It was for him.</p><p>“Not. Funny.”</p><p>Right. So, the sad princess sought counsel with the mage who lived at the tippy-top of one of the extremely tall towers. Of course, she had to climb many flights of stairs to get to the tippy-top, and she was quite winded by the time she got there, so the mage offered her a seat. As she caught her breath, tears trickled down her face, and the mage guessed at her reason for coming to visit him - something few people did unless they had a flying mount (because the tower was really tall).</p><p>‘My dear princess,’ the mage began, ‘I know the death of your father, such a kind and compassionate king, weighs heavy on your heart, as it does mine. He was one of the few people in this castle who bothered to climb the many flights of stairs to visit me.’</p><p>“...”</p><p>What? I’m getting on with it.</p><p>“I’m watching you.”</p><p>And as the mage spoke these words, the princess wept harder, for her grief redoubled at a telling of her father’s kindness that was now stripped from the world. </p><p>‘Do not cry, dear princess.’ The mage comforted her. ‘Your father may be gone from this world in a physical sense, but he lives on in your heart as he does in mine.’</p><p>“What does this have to do with vows?”</p><p>I’m getting there. Be patient.</p><p>Now, after this counsel, the princess calmed somewhat. Though the ache in her heart did not go away, for how could it, she found new purpose. She would spread the kindness and compassion her father taught her with the world so his memory would live on through her.</p><p>It so happened that in the countryside nearly at the border of the kingdom, a poor farmer passed away, leaving his humble farm to his grieving son who was his only surviving relative. The farmer’s son was distraught, and did not know what to do, for he had not the means to maintain his father’s farm, yet the farm was all he had left to remind him of his father’s house which had burned down in the same fire that had killed his father. It had seemed a miracle that the farm itself was untouched by the flames.</p><p>This young lad did the only thing he could think of to try and save the farm: he wrote a letter to his childhood friend, a girl who once visited the farm when he was young. He knew only that she came from a well-off family in the capital, and that her name was Rose. They had become fast friends the year she stayed in his small home village, and she had made him promise to write her if ever he was in need of aid. She had told him to address the letter to Rose in the capital city and to draw a special symbol (which she made him practice many times to make sure he would not forget). That would ensure the letter was delivered to her.</p><p>A few weeks later, Rose received his letter, and she traded her glistening crown and pretty gown for trousers and a simple blouse. She hired-</p><p>“Is this Rose supposed to be the princess?”</p><p>Yes. Stop interrupting. She hired a small crew of workers to help rebuild the young farmer’s home, and asked her mother to develop relief programs for the border villages, for she knew from the way her friend wrote his letter that the border villages were much worse off than the reports coming in to the capital had indicated.</p><p>Rose helped the young farmer tend his crops and paid for a room at the small inn in the village for him to stay in until his home was rebuilt. Even once the home was rebuilt, she stayed in the village and helped with his farm, and with teaching the village children, and every so often after a brief trip between border villages, she would send a letter back to her mother with word of how the villages fared and what support would help them most.</p><p>The young farmer learned more about Rose each day, and the kindness and compassion she showed for his farm, his village, and the neighboring villages endeared her to him. He would, in small ways, try to make sure she felt welcome, and that she received the same kindness and compassion she gave. After two years, he summoned his courage, and fully expecting her to turn down such a lowly man, confessed his love for her.</p><p>Now Rose had spent much time with her friend, and she had seen the goodness, kindness, and compassion in him. She had felt unworthy of such a good man, and had kept from confessing her love to him lest he feel guilty for turning her down, so when he proposed to her, she was without doubt the happiest woman alive. She knew long before he asked for her hand that she would stand beside him as long as life would let her, and she knew she would help him no matter the danger.</p><p>It was with all her heart and soul that she spoke her vows to him on their wedding day.</p><p>“That is a lovely story. But your name isn’t Rose, you are not a princess, you are not marrying a farmer, and he was not your childhood friend.”</p><p>And? I don’t see the problem. It’s touching.</p><p>“And it has nothing to do with your relationship. Try again.”</p><p>But-</p><p>“Look, what was it about Reynold that made you fall in love?”</p><p>Well, there are a lot of things. Reynold captured my heart with a lot of little moments. He was there for me when I was in a bad way. He encouraged me when I didn’t believe in myself. He was everything I could ever ask for, and I want to be that for him.</p><p>“See, you don’t need some story about a princess and farmer to write your vows.”</p><p>***</p><p>A column of green light shot up from the spot in the clearing where the bandit captain stood as he caught the heart of the forest, followed swiftly by a cry of pain. Glowing green tendrils of light crept from the bandit captain’s hands up his arms like vines writhing beneath his skin as they made their way ever closer to his heart.</p><p>This was why Leilaniel’s people had protected the heart of the forest for so long. It was not because they clung to its power with a jealous love or dark desire. It was not because of tradition or expectation. It was not because of greed or pride.</p><p>It was because humans could not hold it.</p><p>Mortal beings could not control the power of the heart of the forest. It would consume them inside and out, and it would destroy them.</p><p>This is the truth that Leilaniel’s lover learned after his king had tasked him with capturing the jewel for the kingdom to use as a weapon of war, and it was why he had, in the end, betrayed his king’s command. He had learned the lesson that so many others had ignored.</p><p>This was also what had first attracted her to him.</p><p>But the bandit captain would not listen. When she told him the heart of the forest would be his doom, he had laughed in her face. When she warned him not to touch what was hers, he had scoffed and taken it anyway.</p><p>“Have you had enough, then?” Leilaniel questioned as the bandit captain howled in pain.</p><p>“It is enough, Leilaniel!!” Her lover caught her attention. “No more. Please.”</p><p>He stood there, bound, wounded, probably tortured, and still he begged forgiveness for the one who had hurt him. It was one of the things she loved about him, and one of the things she feared would one day doom him. Still, Leilaniel knew her lover would never forgive her if she did not end it here, even though she would have gladly let the bandit captain suffer his self-wrought torment until death. Her lover was her conscience, telling her when to stop. They were truly two halves of one whole:</p><p>He was mercy. She was vengeance.</p><p>“At’al Leif Ind Hir’ata!” Leilaniel invoked the ancient rite, reaching out to withdraw the heart of the forest from its would-be victim. The glowing green vine-like tendrils receded from the bandit captain’s body and back into the jewel from whence they came. The column of light which had burst forth so suddenly retreated just as quickly into the stone as Leilaniel lifted it and placed it once more within her clothes. “In’ter’ei Vir’tu.” Leilaniel murmured softly, bracing herself for the shock of the heart of the forest once more assimilating itself with her heart. She had withdrawn it before coming after her lover since the extraction was arguably more taxing.</p><p>The bandits gathered around their leader who still trembled from the aftershock of being overcome by the heart of the forest.</p><p>“Do you understand now?” Leilaniel questioned, her voice grim and dark. “If you continue to seek it, the heart of the forest will be your doom.”</p><p>The bandit captain shook in his boots. “Yes. Yes, we will go.” He signalled for his men to withdraw, and they wasted no time in doing so. Some shouted about a monster as they went.</p><p>Leilaniel sighed and went swiftly to her lover’s side. “Where are you hurt?”</p><p>“Here and there.” Her lover gave her a cocky grin that was only half convincing as she helped to untie him and he stumbled a bit. “It’s nothing I can’t live with.” He grimaced a bit as he moved around.</p><p>“This will never happen again.” Leilaniel vowed, the first of many vows she would make that day.</p><p>“Even if it does,” her lover replied, “I know you will always come for me.” He stole a chaste kiss from her lips. “And I will always wait for you.”</p><p>“Harupmh!” Frawnpip broke into the conversation of the two lovers. “Let us get to the wedding rites then!”</p><p>“Now, now,” Leilaniel did her best to mimic the low and slow rumbling voice of the shepherd of the trees, “we mustn’t be hasty!”</p><p>Her lover laughed, and even Frawnpip himself, the grand old shepherd, chuckled in that slow way of his that sounds almost more like the creaking of branches on a windy day than a laugh.</p><p>“I think we have waited long enough.”</p><p>***</p><p>“Seriously, I do not understand how Rita could so blatantly rip off “The Princess Bride” like that,” Miss Narrator muttered beneath her breath, barely audible to Rita.</p><p>Rita stopped her new narration of her and Reynold’s love story, which Miss Narrator believed was even more inaccurate than the first three stories. “Stop right there. You don’t need a shipwreck iceberg story either. You need to tell the story of <em>you</em>. <em>Your</em> story is interesting. <em>Your</em>story is powerful. Quit trying to make me tell bullshit, excuse my language.” Miss Narrator stared down her narratee, “Tell me the <em>real</em> story or <em>I</em> will make something up that is terrible and doesn’t fit the two of you at all.” </p><p>***</p><p>Felsee jumped from the cliff, spreading her leathery wings. They were too worn and tattered for flying, but they worked beautifully for gliding. And conveniently, they snapped into her back when she was on the ground, so they didn’t function as deadweight during battles. </p><p>As she alighted on the ground, Felsee activated her fel sight to locate her love, Kath’nar. While she scanned the area, Felsee thought, not for the first time by any means, about the irony of how her name sounded in the common tongue. It was, after all, only through fel sight that she could see.</p><p>After a brief moment of panic that she had come to the wrong area, Felsee spotted the vague form of Kath’nar. It was obstructed by - she honed her senses as she moved toward the obstruction - the wall of a cave. </p><p>Kath’nar’s greeting graced her ears as she entered the mouth of the cave. His voice was deep and melodious as usual and it tugged at her heart in a way she had thought nothing ever would again before she gave up her sight. That had been a dark time for her. The darkness of the world without sight suited her mood at the time, and she never once regretted the ritual until she met Kath’nar.</p><p>Certainly, the power to fight against the fel beings was worth the sacrifice, and navigating without regular sight was no problem as her other senses were heightened. Also, fel sight was convenient for spotting ambushes and hidden or disguised enemies. However, she did sometimes wish she could see Kath’nar’s face - not the vague face in black and green hues that fel sight gave her, but his face. Was his smooth skin a creamy, pale tone, or ivory? Perhaps it was chocolate-colored. And what shade did his eyes glow? She felt it. With every passing day, her memory of colors other than black and fel green faded away.</p><p>“My love, is everything alright?” Kath’nar’s voice pulled her out of her ruminations.</p><p>“Yes, well, mostly.” Felsee sighed. “I do worry that your family will not approve of me. I am, after all, *this.*”</p><p>After a brief moment of silence in which Felsee’s inner demon clouded her mind with doubts, she felt a strong, sure hand on her cheek. “My love, they will love you just as I do.”</p><p>“Or they will see me as a betrayer of our people, corrupted and tainted.”</p><p>“Felsee,” Kath’nar spoke gently, “you know that is not what you are. You are brave, strong. When the world told you only death and fear would come and that the demons would rule, you told it that it was wrong. You took in the blood of the demons and blinded your eyes so that you could *see* and so that you could fight against the corruption of the demons.” Kath’nar calmed her doubts as he had so many times before. “If anyone calls you ‘tainted,’ they are the ones who cannot see.”</p><p>Felsee smiled. She wondered for the thousandth time how she came to be so lucky as to have met Kath’nar. Of all places, they had met in the battlefield during an uneasy alliance when the Demon Hunters were still distrusted by the rest of the Free Peoples but at a time when their power was necessary.</p><p>Amid all the bloodshed and fear and unease, Kath’nar had found her, wounded. Perhaps because her eyes were veiled under her helm, he had mistaken her for just another blood elf and taken her to a shelter where he treated her wounds and realized she was one of the Demon Hunters.</p><p>But he did not withdraw from her like most of the Free Peoples, like her people - the ones that used to be her friends and she feared her family would have if they had lived. No Kath’nar stayed by her side, nursing her back to health. In return, she had stayed by his side throughout the rest of the battle. Since then, they had grown close, and, at length, he asked her to marry him.</p><p>She had said yes, though not without hesitation. At first, he thought she would say no because she took so long to respond and started crying. She then had to explain it was just that she hadn’t thought herself worthy of that kind of love after… everything.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments made while reviewing November:<br/>S: questioning voice after reading a phrase in a made up language<br/>C: “Sure.  Why not? I just liked how it looked.”<br/>S: “ You said that about Samantha’s accent.”<br/>C: hurries to type this in the comments</p><p>S:  “That rhymed.”<br/>C: “It did ”</p><p>S: “I feel like that was a vow. Not a wedding vow, but a vow.”<br/>C:  “It was.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. 17 November 2020 (as AD Sinsrfun10)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This day was hijacked by an AD Sinsrfun10. Be warned.</p>
<p>*Trigger Warning* Mention of stillbirths, infant death, and an abusive relationship. *Trigger Warning*</p>
<p>Day 17 total: 3,239 words<br/>17-day total: 16,576 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic:<br/>“Laicolasse will not need today’s. *evil laughter* ... no one responded to my evil laughter.” “We’re used to it by this point.” “I just laughed when I saw it.”</p>
<p>"This is going to be a mini epic" "Now I have an idea" "now I'm scared"</p>
<p>*Trigger Warning* Mention of stillbirths, infant death, and an abusive relationship. *Trigger Warning*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I will love you even though you are Valor and I am Instinct. I will love you even though you are a Hufflepuff to my Slytherin. I will love you as Paris did Helen and fight any war for you," she paused in her vows to take a deep breath. </p>
<p> He squeezed her hands gently, rubbing his thumb over the back of her scarred knuckles.</p>
<p>She continued, "I love you though you believe you are like a dwarf and I am like an elf. I love you because of our differences. They make us stronger and unite us in ways that I never imagined I could be connected to a man. You helped me overcome so much and helped deepen my devotion to God. Thank you for being the man that God meant for you to be. He put you in my life to bring me back to Him and to truly know how love and happiness really feels."</p>
<p>He smiled brightly at his almost wife and squeezed her hands again. She continued her vows, breathing even more shakily. </p>
<p> "You are the sun to my moon, giving me light to sustain my days. You are the moon to my tides, pulling me along the way. You are the earth beneath my feet, a steady place to walk. You have cemented me to you in ways that I never dreamed I could be connected with someone."</p>
<p>He squeezed her hands again, this time to comfort her before he wiped the tears cascading down her face. His large hands reached up to cup her face between them. His own scarred knuckles hidden beneath colorful markings that covered his natural skin color.</p>
<p> "Your hands match mine. We have similar calluses and scars on our hands. You cover your scars with beauty and color and I wear mine as badges of hardships. Our hands are survivor's hands. We've battled so much to get where we are-" Her voice broke, more tears dripping down his arms because his hands were still cupping her face, gently cradling her face between his palms.</p>
<p>Erika sat up, her purple plaid comforter in a heap at her hips. Tears steadily flowing from her brown eyes. Her breath, rugged and deep. She felt torn apart by this dream. Like it was real. Like she had been transported back from another reality where she reconnected with God and found a man that moved her stoicism to tears and bubbling happiness. </p>
<p>She felt lost. She had been a part of a relationship filled with happiness and love. Her vows, what she remembered saying, we're beautiful, wonderful, and sincere. She remembered the feeling she had. She was filled with love so overwhelmingly, it brought tears; she was so happy and was absolutely truthful with every word she had told her soon-to-be husband. She wanted-no, needed a love like that. </p>
<p>Her scarred hands clutched the comforter more tightly. She used the left to wipe away the remaining tears on her face. She slowly left her twin bed and plodded to the bathroom. She leaned heavily on the sink, her face almost touching the mirror.</p>
<p>'What did he see in me?' She thought. Her eyes drawn to what she thought were flaws. Her brown eyes she thought were too dark and lifeless. The light scars of acne on her cheeks, still present five years after leaving her teens. The heavier scars, one cutting through her lips and the other across her nose, were jagged and still stood out brightly against her dark complexion. She sighed heavily. 'What <em>exactly</em> does this man see in me that he can look at me with such love, such happiness? All I do is wreck things,' her thoughts spiraled, darker and filled with such self-loathing. </p>
<p>'I'm not pretty. I don't have blonde hair and light skin. I don't have pretty eyes, " she scoffed, looking down at herself. "Or even a nice-looking rack. All I have is brains, and even then, my family says that's iffy.”</p>
<p>Sixty miles away from Erika's tiny apartment, a man woke up. He sat up in his shared bed. He looked over to see if his nighttime companion woke up when he did. She was unmoving, her hair unbound and covering her face, body covered by the warm dark cotton sheets. Her back was to him. He leaned forward, his face cradled by his hands, though his hands were much rougher on himself than they were in the dream. </p>
<p>'Why did he dream about his wedding? He was not going to get married ever. Weddings and marriages were for suckers and fools that would lose everything to a woman that convinced him that marriage was the end all be all of life. Not him, never.</p>
<p>'So why did he dream about this?' His mind raced furiously and fruitlessly to figure out what this dream meant. After some frustrating thoughts, he rubbed his face harshly with his hands and resolved to go back to sleep. </p>
<p>Though one new thought entered his mind; the him in his dream had a great idea to cover the ugliness of his scarred hands with the colors of the tattoos. </p>
<p>James came awake slowly and groggily. His rumpled sheets seemed even more rumpled in the dim light of the sun shining through the white blinds into his bedroom. The light showed a room dominated by a bed and a clean beige carpet, worn down slightly in the pathways between the bed, the closet, and the hallway door.</p>
<p>The light also showed an empty side of the bed. James' bed companion left before the light of day, during his restless sleep that followed The Dream that sent chills down his spine and ideas in his head. </p>
<p>He shuffled his way to the only bathroom in his one bedroom apartment. The carpet kept his feet warm in the chill of winter that only slightly permeated the air of the apartment. The cold beige vinyl flooring in the bathroom made him hop lightly from foot to foot until he reached the brown mats on the floor. His toes curled, gripping the fabric of the mat tightly before he dared to look in the mirror. </p>
<p>His left hand felt how long his hair was. He preferred to have short hair; it was less cumbersome that way and he didn't have to find someone new to cut his hair every time his job moved him to a new city. He didn't have to turn his back on a stranger. </p>
<p>He peered at his face. 'Why was she so happy with me? No. I will NOT think about The Dream.' His thoughts paused and he gazed at the generic silver faucet in the sink. His gaze returned to his reflection in the mirror. 'I look good. I can pick up chicks no problem. I'm not going to worry about some dream that will never happen.' </p>
<p>Erika couldn't go back to sleep after that dream. She documented it thoroughly in her journal for her court mandated therapist. The mess that was her last relationship forced both her and her ex-fiancé into mandated therapy. Hers was only mandated for the first four sessions, but she had developed such a great relationship with her therapist that she left making more appointments. Her ex was doing his from jail. Erika shuddered at the reminder of him.  </p>
<p>Her therapist, Dr. Aijem, asked her to personalize the journal. Make it her own, make it something that she would be comfortable walking around with. And she did. Erika put pictures of female jazz singers on it. She looked at the journal and smiled because those women's songs got her through the tough times she thought her teenage years were. </p>
<p>She had quickly discovered she was wrong when she graduated college and was in the relationship with her ex - her teenage years were relatively easy. She had to deal with two loving parents and three younger siblings trying to get her attention. She had to deal with school and babysitting, but she never had to work. Her parents had always told her that school was her job. She realized how lucky she was when she was juggling work and school her last year of undergrad.</p>
<p>The woes of her early twenties that contributed to the ongoing nightmares that necessitated the journal's existence in the first place were not the reason that she was up before the sun documenting a dream.</p>
<p>She described her groom. Although the words she had said were slipping away, she could perfectly describe the man in her dream. He was shorter than her, not by a lot, but she knew she was in flats at the wedding and he still had to reach up to her slightly above average height. </p>
<p>He had a long dark beard that reflected red tones when the light hit it just right. The hair on top of his head was short; she somehow just knew that it would feel really soft on the palm of her hand if she had reached over to feel it. His eyes were blue, a bright blue that added to the roguishness his crooked nose gave to his face. His laugh lines were really defined, like all he did was smile when around her. Tattoos of flowers covered the scars on his hands. Bright orchids and lilies hid the pain of his youthful endeavors. The flowers morphed into a jungle filled with animals as one looked up his arms. These jungles hid other tattoos he also gained in his youth. </p>
<p>His suit suited him. It was cut to show off his impressive shoulders and legs. It gave him a better illusion of height. She knew that his short stature impressed her early on. She doesn't know how they met in the Dream World, but that he had impressed her and that she continually felt impressed by him.</p>
<p>She described how the wedding was set up. It was in a church. The stained glass windows were perfectly lit from the outside, shining on the two of them as she was telling him her vows. She didn't remember what the preacher looked like or how many people were there. She only really remembered him. </p>
<p>Several years passed, but a few times a year she had The Dream. Dr. Aijem had asked her several times why she believed that dream kept coming back, but Erika didn't know. </p>
<p>James continued to have The Dream too. The Dream increased in frequency the closer he was to adding a new piece to his arms. It's like it wanted him to become closer to the man portrayed in the wedding. 'Maybe my subconscious?' He mused after connecting his cover-up appointments with recurrences of The Dream. He quickly put that thought behind him and moved forward in his life. </p>
<p>He had been stable in life since he dreamed of his wedding. He still lived in that one bedroom apartment, but he earned a promotion with his job that limited the amount of traveling he had to do between sites. </p>
<p>He had worked as a scout for an architecture firm. He would look over the sites that the firm was bidding on and review the neighborhood and dimensions of the projects. He enjoyed the work, but the traveling wore on him.</p>
<p>James made friends with a few people now that he was in the office everyday. They would hang out on the weekends. They never talked about religion and faith. James was unfamiliar with anything to do with those things. Thinking about them made him uncomfortable. One of his new friends lost three babies before they were born. She and her husband named all three of them and mourned them. But they kept trying for another kid! It baffled him how they both could just keep moving forward and believing that God had a reason for taking their babies before they lived.</p>
<p>He finally voiced his confusion to his co-worker and friend. She lightly laughed and asked James to join them for church and Bible study that week. James, despite his discomfort, agreed. </p>
<p>Erika worked as a tutor for people learning English and for students outside of elementary school. She liked her job, but felt like she needed something, something different.</p>
<p>She found her something different outside the realm of her job. A new app came out that harkened to her youth of watching a boy named Ash having adventures with Pikachu, Brock, and Misty. She enjoyed playing the app and endured the early server errors and the need to buy several backup batteries for her phone. Erika met a lot of people while she played on her phone. Her family despaired that she was absorbing herself into a game meant for children. She ignored them, they liked her ex and he had been more detrimental to her health than this game ever would be. </p>
<p>James' new job was less physical than his previous one. He traveled less and had to ensure that his new tattoos were covered in the office. Some of his co-workers that hadn't met him before did a double take at the pretty flowers on his hands. The only tattoos he had that he was unable to cover on a daily basis. James needed to decompress from work. Bible study and church was nice but he still didn't really understand it. He had heard about a kid's book series that finished years before, but his life back then wasn't conducive to sitting down and reading seven books about a boy going to magic school.</p>
<p>He bought the first one and liked it. The second was similarly interesting. But the third, the third made him intrigued. The third began the process of showing that the new world the boy was in was most definitely not sunshine and roses. James loved the fourth book. He was horrified at the happenings in the fifth and sixth books. And the seventh, well, he hated the epilogue and almost threw the book at the wall when he read that copout, but the battle reminded him of some of the fights in his youth. </p>
<p>He delved into the culture of the books. He added pieces of his House to his jungled arms. He had always worked hard and he valued loyalty more than anything. That loyalty got him in trouble, but he <em>earned</em> the scars on his hands and he <em>earned</em> the money to cover them up. </p>
<p>Some people in the fandom told him about this app. It wasn't one connected to the books; it was connected to something that James was never into in his youth. The goal in the app was to collect all the little monsters you can, join a team, and have your team control as many 'gyms' as possible. </p>
<p>He tried it out and became addicted. He refused to log into the app until after he left work. He knew that he would be distracted if he logged into the app before work or at lunch. He roamed the city, adding to his 'dex and catching and evolving the monsters.</p>
<p>He continued to attend church with his co-worker and her husband. As he learned more, he became more intrigued by what the church was teaching. This guy, Jesus, was so loyal and so good, he sacrificed himself to save the rest of mankind. James could get behind that kind of loyalty. He understood it intrinsically. The thing that kept baffling him though was how Jesus was the Son of God. James heard enough of his female classmates lie about having sex and getting pregnant when he was younger that he was extremely skeptical about Mary being a virgin. But the explanations, they kept telling him, were in the Bible. </p>
<p>James bought a Bible and began to read it. It frustrated him. He started at the beginning, but there was no mention of Jesus there. Just a lot of people being born and tracking who their parents were. He became angry with it and threw it down. He walked away from it for two weeks. He refused to go to Bible study during that time. (This was when he discovered those books about the boy wizard.)</p>
<p>His co-worker's husband convinced him to come back to Bible study. There, James growled about trying to read it. After the laughter in the room died down, they explained that the Bible is more like a library of books and stories. There was a way of reading it and a way of finding information in it. They asked him to bring his Bible next week. The group showed him how they found information in the Bible with their Bibles. James sighed deeply and agreed heavily. 'Who knew that you had to be taught how to read a Bible?' He thought incredulously.</p>
<p>The Bible was brought the next week. The entirety of the class was on how to read the Bible. James learned, still slightly incredulous that he had to be taught how to read this book. At home, he explored his Bible. Taking notes on questions his reading drew up and marking up the thin pages. He began to believe. </p>
<p>James continued to play the game in the app, but his free time balance now balanced between studying his Bible and playing the game. He continued to play the game in the afternoons, but his mornings were reserved for his study. He became engrossed with learning about the life of Jesus and his belief led him to be baptized. </p>
<p>The game evolved. It would hold these special events and one could try to get rare monsters that were only available with a special pass. One day, the game had given James a special pass to try to battle and catch number 150 in the 'dex. He went to the gym to try and get it and bumped into a woman. She was taller than him, with gorgeous dark eyes and hair. He looked closer and she was the woman from The Dream! </p>
<p>Erika was bumped out of her focus, her finger hitting incense instead of lucky egg. She was miffed, but shrugged it off internally. She heard a deep voice apologize and then she felt the stare. She finally looked up from her phone and stared back. She would recognize those eyes anywhere. Her eyes immediately left his clean-shaven face to check if the hands were the same. They were. Tears welled up in her eyes.</p>
<p> "It's you," they said simultaneously. Their mutual daze was interrupted by someone loudly calling for the different teams to break apart. </p>
<p> "I'm Instinct; are you Valor?" Erika internally pleaded with herself to be right. </p>
<p> "Yes," he paused. "but I think Mystic is in the majority so you'll probably be with me - I mean in the same raid as me." A red flush began on his ears. Erika felt her cheeks warm.</p>
<p> "I don't think being with you would be bad," she looked at him shyly.</p>
<p> He laughed. "Would you like to have dinner with me after we are done here?"</p>
<p> "I'd like that. I'd like it a lot."</p>
<p>That date led to many more dates. He introduced her to his co-workers and his church friends. She introduced him to her family and her friends from the app. He brought God back into her life. They were happy.</p>
<p>Their happiness expanded after they relived the moment that they pictured so long ago in their dreams, except this time they both remembered the vows they told each other. His definitely weren't as long as hers, but they were just as sincere and loving.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments while reviewing AD November 17:<br/>L: Dwalin?<br/>C: *laughter*</p>
<p>L: “Wait! That’s just a book?”<br/>C: “Dream.”<br/>S: “I cannot wait until she gets it, C. I can’t wait.”</p>
<p>L: “But… you… gheh, what?”<br/>S: *laughing so hard she can’t talk*<br/>L: “What the hell did you do? You’re evil.”<br/>C: *laughing while trying to type*<br/>S: “Don’t worry. It gets better.”<br/>L: “I’m sure.”<br/>C: “It gets worse first.”<br/>S: “Only a little.”<br/>L: “*glares at S:* Just keep reading! I need to know!”</p>
<p>L: *glaring and pointing at her face* “This look is for her family.”</p>
<p>L: “You can keep reading.”<br/>S: “I was waiting for her (C:) to finish typing.”<br/>L: “She’ll catch up.”<br/>C: *Internally* Gee thanks… It’s true though.</p>
<p>L: “Oh, this had better not be a dream in a dream.”<br/>S: “I will do a spoiler. It’s not.”</p>
<p>L: *mutters* “Now he sounds more like Gimli.” she then proceeded to debate which dwarf he was most like and asserted that it didn’t really matter since he wasn’t any of them anyway<br/>S: admitted that Gimli was the inspiration for the beard.</p>
<p>S: “How did we miss that C:?”<br/>C: “We already fixed so many kindle issues.”<br/>S: “Yeah.”</p>
<p>L: “Just gonna say: That’s very fitting for a dwarf.” referring to James’s occupation<br/>S: “What can I say?”</p>
<p>L: “This is beautiful by the way.”</p>
<p>L: *uncontrollable laughter* x5</p>
<p>L: “Oh, this is where that comment came from!”<br/>S: “Yes, yes it is.”<br/>C: *thinks* I had the same reaction</p>
<p>S: *uncontrollable laughter*</p>
<p>C: *uncontrollable laughter*</p>
<p>L: “One word: Christmas.”<br/>C: recalls stating earlier: “Yeah, the genealogy is long.”</p>
<p>L: “That’s so sweet!”</p>
<p>L: “That was amazing AD S!”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. 18 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A dragon couple, some familiar faces from October, adorableness, a man who always kept his promises, and meaning something entirely different than what you say... a LOT of this was blacked by the way</p>
<p>Day 18 total: 2,815 words<br/>18-day total: 19,391 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>“I promise I didn’t make anything happen before the wedding ceremony was over... I just intimated that it’s ABOUT to happen... And of course she’s wearing hot pink.”<br/>“Dr. Lenox?! Dr. Lenox was driven insane by the AD world!” “Well, technically, it is implied that he might not be as insane as people thought he was.”</p>
<p>"I was going to black the whole thing, but it's not allowed." "I did black the whole thing because it was allowed. *self-satisfied smirk*"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>18 November 2020</p>
<p>“I still remember how we met on the first day of the first month of the year of the dragon. I neither was nor desired to celebrate the new year coming, yet somehow because of you I did. </p>
<p>You were part of a parade and one of the members of the dragon - the head of the dragon, in fact. I had to pass by the parade to get home, and as I tried to finagle my way through the crowd, a gentleman shifted to get a better view, bumping into me, causing me to lose my balance and fall toward the parade area. As fate would have it, I found myself not trampled over after hitting the ground, but saved by a dragon who caught me as I fell. Of course, the rest of the dragon failed to notice and kept moving behind you, and, instead of pushing me upright and then continuing, you dragged me along. </p>
<p>“I was not particularly enthusiastic about suddenly joining the parade, and I was even less enthusiastic after realizing that was at the beginning of the parade route and there was no good way to slip out without tripping the entire dragon; however, the fancy dinner you treated me to as an apology was delicious. I remember the look of horror on your face when you realized I have a dragon-sized appetite.</p>
<p>“I thought that would be the last I saw of you, the dragon’s head who treated me to dinner, and, for about a week, it was. Then, the new semester at college began. At 6:30am every morning for the next sixteen weeks, we sat next to each other in the quietest COMM 108: Speech and Rhetoric class in the history of our University. </p>
<p>“When you also happened to be in my biology class, I thought it was a coincidence. When I saw you in my history class, I thought it was strange. When you showed up in my math class and English class as well, I thought you were stalking me. And when you were somehow partnered with me for every single group assignment for all of our classes, I knew there was some kind of conspiracy.</p>
<p>“Sixteen weeks, several group projects, at least twenty group meetings, five impromptu study sessions, and a whole lot of eraser dust later, we were the best of friends. I remember being confused that I was looking forward to working on our group projects because I normally hated group projects. I was shocked to find that I didn’t want the semester to end. The stress, the exams, the papers, those I could live without, but I would miss you.</p>
<p>“Two days into summer break, I was thrilled when you asked me to come hang out at the beach. The next day, I regretted not wearing sunblock. The day after that, I still regretted not wearing sunblock, but the icecream you brought helped me forget.</p>
<p>“When I started dating a guy from my part-time job, you insisted on meeting him to make sure he was good enough for me. When I had a fight with him, you listened to me complain. When he cheated on me, you comforted me and made me laugh about all the ways we could get back at him including painting his precious hot-red sport’s car pink with little purple flowers.</p>
<p>“When my next boyfriend made me feel worthless, you told him what for and made sure I knew how important I was. We ate chocolate chips and watched funny movies until my sides hurt from laughing.</p>
<p>“After we graduated, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get into grad school, and you were there to encourage me. You made sure I didn’t pull out all of my hair or nibble off all my fingernails, and when I got accepted, you made sure we celebrated.</p>
<p>“I missed seeing you in person when we were in different states for our grad programs, and I called you at ridiculous hours of the day pretty much every day, but you always answered or sent a quick text that you’d call me as soon as you were out of class or done with a meeting. And you always did call later.</p>
<p>“At one point, the pressure to do well in class combined with the stress of working as many hours as I could to try and somehow make ends meet just became too much. I felt like I was drowning because of how overwhelming it was, and I was sobbing when I called you. It was close to exam time, yet the very next day, you showed up at my apartment after taking the first flight you could get just to make sure I was okay.</p>
<p>Even when I got a job that required me to move frequently, you followed me. If my boss pissed me off, I knew I could confide in you. When my relationships were a mess, I knew you would listen and if necessary be a shoulder to cry on.</p>
<p>“When you confessed that you loved me, you never pressured me to agree to date you, and you promised to always be there when I needed you even if I fell in love with someone else. The first time I asked you out, I thought your smile would rip your face in half. </p>
<p>“I accepted your proposal on the first day of the first month of the year of the dragon. I both was and desired to celebrate the new year because of you.</p>
<p>“Looking back, I realize how lucky I was to be rescued by a dragon, and I can’t count how many times that dragon has rescued me since then. You have been my rock, my confidant, my best friend, and I vow that every day, no matter what life throws our way, you will be my love. I will strive to be for you everything you have been for me.</p>
<p>“I, Ai, take you, Doryu, to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.”</p>
<p>Sixty years later, on the first day of the first month of the year of the dragon, a very old dragon celebrated the new year with his wife once again.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>As Greg stood on the beach at the end of the aisle lined with yellow hibiscus blossoms - a celebration of the wonderful state of Hawaii - his breath caught in his throat when she appeared and began walking toward him.</p>
<p>Em was utterly breathtaking.</p>
<p>She wore a beautiful white off-the-shoulder gown that fell to just above her ankles, and a haku lei of woven orchids and baby’s breath graced her forehead. But more than that, she was Em, and she was smiling at him as she walked down the aisle.</p>
<p>Greg barely even saw Dr. Lenox as he stood in for Em’s father to give the bride away because his eyes were so utterly filled with Em and his mind was so overwhelmed with the thought that she would, very soon, be his wife.</p>
<p>And then she was saying her vows, and he was holding back laughter as she vowed to love him forever even if he pressed another button, and he was grinning from ear to ear in pure bliss as she slipped the ring on his finger.</p>
<p>Nothing but Em could draw his attention so fully that he barely even noticed the flash of hot pink as Samantha flitted back and forth as necessary to fulfill the duties of both the maid of honor and the best man - he and Em had agreed that, due to some rather abhorrent memories of AD Isabella, the Isabella from this dimension would not be part of the wedding party, and - in all honesty - after interdimensional travel together, Samantha was the closest person to both of them other than each other.</p>
<p>“I vow to love you and to honor you all the days of my life, in this dimension or any other.” Greg began. “I vow to love you even if you get a tattoo that isn’t a tattoo, and even if we end up in Africa, or anywhere else, and even if you have to smack me really hard to make me drop the puzzle box, and even if you look creepy, and even if you start studying monkeys - though we will definitely have a talk if you do - and I will always, always be there for you, no matter what.” Greg paused and slipped the ring on Em’s finger. “I love you, Em.”</p>
<p>He only vaguely heard the minister saying they were now husband and wife and that he could kiss the bride because of how loud Em’s beautiful smile was - and yes, he fully understood the impossibility of that statement, but it was still true. And then he kissed her, and they were married.</p>
<p>He was hers. She was his.</p>
<p>Forever.</p>
<p>It was a wonderful feeling, and one that he knew would last a lifetime. After what they had already been through, he knew he and Em could weather any storm. And besides that, they could always ask Samantha to help out - she was already appointed godmother of any children they might have. </p>
<p>And she was always prepared. </p>
<p>All three of them were, really. After their last adventure, not one of them ventured far without having at least one practical item handy. Samantha had her hot pink buck knife strapped to her thigh with a garter underneath her hot pink bride’s maid’s dress. Greg had an all-in-one pocket knife in the back pocket of his white wedding suit. And Em had, from what Greg gathered, woven a strong rope into her haku lei. They also had an entire survival kit ready and waiting in a decorated bag by the wedding arch - just in case.</p>
<p>Not that anything would happen…</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>He began writing his vows when he was five years old.</p>
<p>Now, his vows had been through a number of revisions since then. After all, a five-year-old’s idea of what’s important to make a promise for can be a little silly sometimes - like promising he would “always give her the first apple that fell off that one old lady’s cart when she came through in apple-picking season and said we could keep whatever fell” which, while sweet, was not something he really needed to say in his wedding vows, especially since that one old lady had long since passed away. Besides, “I promise to give you everything you could ever want or need” should cover “the first apple.” That said, there was one vow that he had kept exactly the same as when he first thought of it at age five: </p>
<p>“I will love you forever and ever.”</p>
<p>The adults had laughed the first time he said it because he was five and she was four and it had followed “You’re reaaaaaaalllly pwetty and I’m gonna marry you when we grow up.” But he had meant it.</p>
<p>He still meant it.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“I’ll give you all my candies from now until forever.”</p>
<p>Those were the first words of promise he ever spoke to her.</p>
<p>“If you say yes, I’ll never let you regret it.”</p>
<p>Those were the words he used to ask her to be his valentine in the fifth grade after shoving a love letter in her face.</p>
<p>“I love you, now and forever.”</p>
<p>Those were the words he spoke after their first kiss.</p>
<p>“When you look up at the night sky and see the moon, know that I am out there somewhere looking at the same moon and thinking of you.”</p>
<p>Those were the last words he had said to her before leaving for the war.</p>
<p>“Now that I’m back, I won’t ever leave you again.”</p>
<p>Those were his words right before proposing.</p>
<p>These are the vows he made to her throughout their lives together, and these were the vows she held in her heart as she cried over his grave. He had died in a fire the week before their wedding after saving the lives of a mother and child in a collapsed building where he had been working when the fire broke out.</p>
<p>Every promise he ever made, he had kept. He had, in fact, given her every candy he ever got. She never once regretted saying yes to being his valentine. She knew he loved her even now that he was gone. She had copies of letters from every night he had been away during the war that spoke of how much he missed her. So she knew in her heart that he was still by her side even as she cried at his graveside.</p>
<p>Still, she wished she could see where he was standing.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>The bride and groom were shouting how much they hated each other right before they walked down the aisle.</p>
<p>The vicar pinched the bridge of his nose. If he hadn’t known the couple since childhood, he would never have agreed to marry them. In fact, he was quite sure no one else on the face of the earth would have agreed to marry them. Perhaps the stranger thing, he realized, was that he had automatically agreed to officiating the ceremony when they had asked him…</p>
<p>No, the weird part was that *they* asked him - it wasn’t an arranged marriage. There was no contract or pressure from either person. They were truly in love.</p>
<p>“I hate you.”</p>
<p>“I hate you too.”</p>
<p>And they were the most dishonest people he had ever met when it came to feelings. They had decided to get married the day they realized that “I hate you” was a mutually intelligible way of saying “I love you” after shouting it at each other across the churchyard last Easter.</p>
<p>The vicar had given them a stern talking to about when and where to shout such things.</p>
<p>It didn’t really work.</p>
<p>He sighed and braced himself for what was going to be the strangest wedding he had ever officiated. After all, who expected wedding vows to sound like theirs?</p>
<p>“I vow to hate you for all eternity. I will despise and loathe you all the days of my life. In sickness and in health I will gloat over you and mock you. I will curse you until death do us part, and then I will haunt you forever after.”</p>
<p>And it all meant “I love you.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“You will do it for the good of the family.” Her father commanded.</p>
<p>She was told she would marry a man she had never met who would bring fortune to her family.</p>
<p>“You must leave him.” Her mother ordered.</p>
<p>She was told she would leave the man she loved because he could give her nothing at all.</p>
<p>“You will do as I say.” Her would-be-husband wrote.</p>
<p>She was told she would be a virtuous wife who did only what her husband told her she could.</p>
<p>“It is the way of things.” Her tutor instructed.</p>
<p>She was told she would have six kids and raise them as a proper woman should.</p>
<p>“I won’t!” She yelled in frustration.</p>
<p>She did none of that.</p>
<p>“They cannot make you.” He told her.</p>
<p>She ran away from home to avoid being married to someone she had never met.</p>
<p>“I cannot give you things, but I will make you happy.” He vowed.</p>
<p>She eloped with the man she loved and lived a happy, penniless life with him.</p>
<p>“What do you think?” He asked her opinion.</p>
<p>She listened to what her husband had to say and then made her own decisions.</p>
<p>“I will never leave your side.” He promised.</p>
<p>She had twin sons whom her husband helped her raise as they worked the farm together.</p>
<p>“I love you.” She replied.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Zin looked at Lori like she was crazy, but only for a moment.</p>
<p>She had a point.</p>
<p>“Very well. Let’s do it.”</p>
<p>He pulled a dagger from his waist and cut his palm. She did the same. </p>
<p>“I, Zin, and she, Lori, by the honor of the blood contract do hereby swear we shall not use mind reading of any kind to learn each other’s wedding vows. Should this contract be breached, we shall pay the blood price.” Zin began the ritual of the blood contract, tugging his mana through his blood and hers. “This I swear.”</p>
<p>“This I swear.” Lori echoed as their blood swirled together.</p>
<p>A brief heat stabbed Zin’s hand as the blood contract sealed itself and closed the wounds on his and Lori’s hands.</p>
<p>“You know I love you.” Zin commented, stealing a kiss.</p>
<p>“And I love you.” Lori mumbled back through the kiss. “But you’re not seeing my vows before the wedding.” She pulled back and walked out of the room.</p>
<p>Zin chuckled. “Neither are you!” He called after her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>S: Dragon is a theme.</p>
<p>C: I don’t think the couple is named.<br/>S: *glares* (as an aside, S is making notes of couple names for tagging purposes. This glaring gets worse before it gets better.)</p>
<p>C: I see what you did there.<br/>L: *takes a bow*</p>
<p>L: Oh, I did give them names.</p>
<p>C: And their state flower.</p>
<p>L: *while reading* *uncontrollable laughter* x4</p>
<p>L: “Does that make ‘I hate you’ a language, a dialect, or a pidgin?”<br/>C: “Yes.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. 19 November 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Our October characters continue their arc, a based on real life story, and a fear of public speaking to contend with today.</p>
<p>Day 19 total: 2,088 words<br/>19-day total: 21,479 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this: “Your sister sparked an idea.” “I have to say, I saw that coming.” “iPad autocorrect isn’t as bad as Kindle autocorrect.” "You can just edit yours. It's got space." C: "I may have rehashed an old convenience and redacted Emilia's reaction because it's a funny fourth wall break that I want to be a surprise." L: "You took my job?" S laughed and said "that's a comment." C: By the way, you guys gave me like three lines and I added about 900 words." S: "*loudly* Thank you. softly make that a comment" C: "And make that a comment!" C: "Oh, I have three comments." C: "Oh, I love that we're now making comments about making comments. I had specifically not been doing that before to save space." S: "you (C) said something else." S: "Oh, now C and S are doing it to L." C: "We have like a chapter's worth of comments already anyway - like the comments could be the chapter." S: "And?" C: "Touché." L: inserts personal note that she also thought 'now they are doing it to me.' C: responds to earlier comment "Now we have to do it to you indicating S" S: "And that's why you're the evil little sister to C" C: self-satisfied smirk S: tells C to add self-satisfied smirk. L: internal thought process 'so what does that make me? I thought the same...' C: "What are you still typing?" L: "My personal thoughts on the matter. said while typing it" C: "Make sure you add that." L: "Already did." S: "--------------" S: "We need to make an amendment to the rules: comments have to be redacted if they reveal plot." All agreed. L: remembers "Oh, we still need to put in the 'the end' amendment." S: "That amendment was Tuesday. said Thursday" L: waiting patiently before saving comment so she doesn't have to re-open it when the inevitable occurs. S: after L finally closed it so she had to reopen it anyway "Oh, and we should add 'loudly because C was in a different room." S: *signs 'sorry' while not looking very sorry at all during re-reading process, causing L to h</p>
<p>"So I'm guessing the new bridesmaid is Isabella?" "*evil face*"</p>
<p>"I love that we weren't afraid until about day five." "Remember our first tear jerker was brought on by me writing with a migraine." "True." "And that's when the horror started too."</p>
<p>Sinsrfun10 "Funnily enough, you *pointing at Calenlas* are always self satisfied smirks." Laicolasse pipes up "I'm self satisfied grins." Sinsrfun10 "Yes, well that just shows that you (Calenlas) are the evil little sister." Laicolasse "*blank stare* I'm the middle child." Sinsrfun10 "Well, I'm an evil little sister too. That's why there's always evil laughter." Laicolasse "Yes, but in this relationship, you're the evil older sister." Sinsrfun10 "No, I'm the nice older sister. I'm only evil when I'm the little sister." Twins Laicolasse and Calenlas just stare. "You're older." They both say. Sinsrfun10 "I'm nice to you." Laicolasse "Not here." Sinsrfun10 "Okay, I'm not nice when writing. I will concede that." Laicolasse "Well, but aren't we perfect little angels? *innocent face*" Sinsrfun10 "Not while writing. She *indicates Calenlas* has already enacted vengeance on us twice." Calenlas "*self-satisfied smirk*" Sinrfun10 "They always know when we hung out while writing." Laicolasse "Yeah, we basically are writing a transcript." Sinsrfun10 "We really need to start filming our conversations." Twins wholeheartedly agree. Sinsrufun10 "Okay, in a random month not to be named, not a part of the round robin, because we're not allowed to discuss that per the rules" Laicolasse interjects "It's an AD Hypothesis." Sinsrufun10 continues "And I refuse to talk in AD hypotheses." Interjection from Laicolasse "Well darn." *hyperventilating laughter from all three authors because of transcript* Sinsrfun10 "You know that kickstarter ___________. We need to write a story using that." Calenlas reflects that none of her thought are added into this conversation because she is the transcriber at the moment. Laicolasse "Oh, well that's perfect because Laicolasse *refers</p>
<p>Calenlas "Oh, I ran out of space in this comment." Resuming Laicolasse: "to herself with her pseudonym* was going to say that they will always know who is transcribing" Sinrfun10 "Laicolasse or Calenlas. Yeah, you both type faster than me." Laicolasse "And we usually have our laptops out and you don't." Sinsrfun10 "And my screen is going wonky again." Calenlas realizes she missed adding a comment earlier that we need to have a comment about how we are always saying "this needs to be a comment." She cannot remember which person said it first and so she decided to add it in narratively.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>I ran out of room for all the comments we made today. They are in the chapter at the very beginning. If you do not want to read our silliness, scroll to STORY STARTS HERE!</em> :-)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Continued comment while writing this fic:<br/>
While correcting comments due to mistypes, Sinsrfun10 tells Calenlas "Yeah that was an S: C: L: That would save us space in the comments. That way we can write more. And we know because we're using fake names there are three different letters."Laicolasse "Yeah. It's convenient... and not normally applicable." Calenlas interjects her thought "Ironically, not because of the twins." Sinsrfun10 (who correct Calenlas to write S: with emphasis from Laicolasse) "It's a sandwich." After a pause "And besides it's only fair as the oldest I get to keep my real first initial that I used in my pen name that I've had probably longer than you've had yours." Laicolasse interjects "But ours mean the same thing." Calenlas realizes that while transcribing out loud S: and L: keep adding comments that make this no longer accurate to the order of the conversation and adds L:'s prior comment. "So you admit to being the evil older sister." L: "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." S: "Emphasis NO, and then we'll edit that to go with 'I was just smart enough to use my real first initial to go with my pen name." L: "We need a transcriber... professional." S: "The camera's here." L: "As none of us move to get it." S: "Okay, that's another comment." C: realizes this started because she was reading the comments back for kicks and giggles and she now is close to running out of space again... She decides to reread them back again anyway.</p>
<p>S: "Point of order. It was no</p>
<p>Calenlas ran out of space again. S: "t 'you all' it was 'y'all.'" L: "And they have to figure it out which one it was." S: "I love the fact that we're doing point of orders. This is us in a nutshell. *stares at jar of peanut butter on the table." L: "Hey, if we add the comments, we'll be at our wordcount." S: "We're not adding the comments to our word count!" L: "Of course not! That would be sacrilegious!" S: "Yes, because, our religion, you know, besides pledging ourselves to our Lord and Savior Jesus is Writing." L: agreed as did C: who then resumes rereading the comments back aloud for kicks and giggles.</p>
<p>After five attempts to read through them. S: "And we finally finished it!" All three authors: "That's a comment." At this point there were only three lines of text on the 19th. But it's okay, because it was only 20:52 and there was still time to write. S: "We now have to edit spoken conversations by saying 'that was not a comment'." This was said after S: made a comment that will be omitted here and then "that was not a comment" which was followed by C: threatening to put in a redaction followed by "that was not a comment." This was the resulting compromise. After rereading this, S: added "That S: was actually not a part of." C: replied "Yeah, now I have to add that."</p>
<p>C: "I love that even though there was only two sentences without any specifiers of which story it was, when it said 'flash of light' we all knew which group it was." L: "Okay, you know that's a comment, right?" C: "*sighs* Yeah" It was C:'s turn to write and she had yet to write a word because she kept getting interrupted by having to add comments. S: "*laughter from another room as she overhears*" C: to L: "I'll read this aloud when she (S:) gets back."</p>
<p>L: laughs "I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I just thought 'what if something terrible happens and we don't make it to 50,000 words and it's almost midnight? Writing party!" Cue S: "We need an amendment. That is a terrifying thought." L: "No, we'll hope for the best and NOT plan for the w</p>
<p>L: "Ah, hang on." C: "She ran out of space." resuming S: "ave to re-open it again." S laughing so hard her ribs hurt. C: "I love us. quickly followed by This is why we shouldn't be allowed to write together. But this is also why we should be forced to write together." S: "That should be a comment." L: internal thought process 'I find it amusing that we pick up replies in the middle of words.' C: "We should do a word count of comments. S: emphatically "No." S looks at C. C looks at S. Both turn silently to L who without looking up because she already thought it says "It's going in." L reopens comment to add the following. All look at each other and burst out laughing after a pregnant pause. C and S talking while L types. L: "Okay, what's next?" laughter C: self-satisfied smirk L: self-satisfied grin C: "If I'm a self-satisfied smirk, and she's a self-satisfied grin (indicating L), then what are you? said to S" S: I don't have a self-satisfied anything." C: "Are you sure?" S: shrugs C: pointing at S "Self-satisfied shrug." S: self-satisfied shrug S: "We apologize for the inaccuracy of this transcript." C: "We'll get to that." S: "I figured." S: "I didn't say 'I figured.'" C &amp; L: "Yes, you did." S: "Oh yeah, I did. See? I was right to apologize." L: "Oh crap! We might have accidentally broken the rules." Long discussion with a lot of attempts to find loopholes ...there is a grey loophole but...we all agreed we need an amendment for clarity. ...we then also agreed to have the amendment be a verbal agreement rather than actually adding it. It was easier. S: "AD S is writing?" L: laughs internally because S was the one who refused to talk in AD S: while re-reading "About future stories!" C: "Add that" S: "Not current ones because I'm the one that just implied insert plot point here AD." Yes, she actually said 'insert plot point here.' L: laughs "The comments now extend down the side of five and a half pages." C: "By the way, this is going to be confusing because when L's comments break off,</p>
<p>Resuming C: "my comments are in between because she had been editing her first comment which mine were replies to, and then she broke off and had to make a reply which showed up after my replies. And, yes, this probably doesn't help clarify anything." Discussion between S and C about whether or not to try to get the order right in the posted story while L is internally laughing because she ran out of space and had to make a reply while writing a comment about what happened the last time she ran out of space and had to make a reply.</p>
<p>S: “I’m not blacking anything I wrote.” ...It went past six pages in the end (not the not-blacking. the comments). L: narrows eyes then smirks in amusement and thinks "I see what you did there." C: "You mean you narrow your eyes and grin (to L:). I smirk; you grin." L: "Fine. Correction: narrows eyes then gives an amused side-grin that closely resembles but is not actually a smirk Better?" C: "Better. with laughter" S: hand up "Pause. Let me set up the camera."</p>
<p>C: "Uh oh." L:" Did you run out of space?" S: "Of course." C: resumes L:'s comment "orst!" C: internally laughs that the reply chain is our of order again. S: "No, it's hope for the best AND plan for the worst!" L: "*said lowly* Let's not. It's too terrifying." In the end, the authors did not make an amendment because Sinrfun10 had to go home.</p>
<p>C: "I also see what you did there."</p><h1>
  <strong>STORY STARTS HERE!</strong>
</h1>
<p>There was a flash of light and the wedding party disappeared. And arrived at a very similar wedding, except the bridesmaid was dressed in a regal green gown with a very familiar and horrifying face.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“You jinxed it!” “This is your fault!” “I blame you!” Three voices overlapped.</p>
<p>How in the world did they even interdimensional travel again this time? There was no red button marked ‘do not push’ at the wedding. There was no tattoo not a tattoo mark on anyone’s forehead that had the power to transfer places.</p>
<p>And they just had to show up at the AD wedding of AD Greg and AD Emilia with AD Isabella as the maid of honor, AD Kyle who now had a very weird amount of hair that made him look somewhat monkey-like as the minister - Emilia realized with horror that was probably because he had been alchemically transmuted with a monkey and that AD Emilia was not, as they had assumed, a biologist but was in fact more likely an alchemist and that AD Greg probably was too - AD Samantha as, apparently, the ringbearer, AD Dr. Lenox as the officiate, and some random person dressed in a lab coat as the best man.</p>
<p>Just great.</p>
<p>Thankfully, they had not ended up in direct line of sight of anyone in the AD wedding party. Rather, they had the good fortune of ending up behind a stand of coconut palm trees, which caused Emilia to have a brief flashback to their first interdimensional traveling experience when they managed to hide from AD Samantha behind a stand of trees on the university campus. It almost felt like she was in a novel where the author didn’t want the characters to face too much trouble just yet and so conveniently placed a stand of trees in the most ideal position.</p>
<p>Emilia didn’t know whether that was a comforting thought or not. She had read enough novels to know that when things are going that conveniently, something worse will probably happen later.</p>
<p>At any rate, despite the tree cover, they were conspicuously dressed like a bride, groom, and maid of honor/best man while standing on a beach no more than 20 feet from their AD selves who were also attending an AD wedding, the survival bag that had been packed and sitting next to the wedding arch had not come with them, and there was no good way to leave their current location without being spotted by the one group of people in the AD world that they least wanted to meet due to rather bad memories - not to mention that if they were spotted there was a high probability of being turned into test subjects.</p>
<p>“Well, what now?” Greg asked.</p>
<p>Emilia looked at him and then at Samantha.</p>
<p>“You okay?” Emilia placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder.</p>
<p>Samantha was muttering something about quitting again with a rather shocked expression on her face.</p>
<p>Right, AD Kyle…</p>
<p>Emilia sighed inwardly. AD Kyle just had to be involved. That always made Samantha have an even harder time. Well, at least she didn’t scream this time.</p>
<p>“Ideas?” Greg prompted. “I don’t think my pocket knife is helping with this one.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think my rope will help either…” Emilia replied.</p>
<p>Samantha seemed to recover enough to think about what to do while fingering the slit in her hot pink bridesmaid’s dress that was carefully placed so that she would more easily be able to reach her hot pink buck knife. “If they leave the venue, we’ll be spotted instantly unless we create cover.” She glanced up at the coconut palm trees. “I need the rope and the pocket knife.” </p>
<p>Greg and Emilia complied as quickly as they were able and watched as Samantha tied the pocket knife to one end of the rope and used it as a weight to toss the rope around a small gap in one of the tree trunks with enough of a curve that she could reach through a gap on the other side to grab it. She handed the pocket knife which was still attached to the rope to Greg and the other end of the rope to Emilia, placing herself between them. “Hold this for a moment.”</p>
<p>Greg nodded.</p>
<p>“What are you-?” Emilia started to ask and then thought better of it. Samantha would tell them when she needed help. It was better not to distract her.</p>
<p>Grabbing the hot pink buck knife from her thigh, Samantha hiked up the skirt of her dress as best she could, realized it wasn’t going to work, and used the hot pink buck knife to slice off enough that she was now essentially wearing a miniskirt with a slit.</p>
<p>Greg diverted his eyes as best he could. Emilia made a mental note to find something she could use as a needle and thread to repair the dress later as she gathered up the discarded cloth - she had been practicing sewing since their last adventure as a just-in-case measure and was decently good at it now.</p>
<p>“I knew I should have worn shorts underneath.” Samantha muttered before taking the rope back from the other two and tying it with a little slack around her waist. Then, she started shimmying up the trunk of the palm tree, using the rope as a way to hold her position and the hot pink buck knife to help give her leverage so that she didn’t have to wrap her arms all the way around the trunk and possibly be spotted.</p>
<p>When she was nearly at the top of the tree, she started cutting down palm fronds with her hot pink buck knife, and Emilia signaled Greg just in time to help her catch them before he could be struck in the head. The newlyweds made a pile of the fronds as Samantha kept cutting them down. Once the pile was almost as tall as Emilia, Samantha stopped and made her way back down the tree, untied the rope, and handed the rope and pocket knife back to their respective owners.</p>
<p>“Okay, now we make a convincingly natural-looking pile of fronds hideout and stay inside it until they” Samantha signalled the AD wedding party “leave.”</p>
<p>Emilia and Greg nodded and the three set to work, Samantha giving advice here and there about where to place the fronds so they looked less purposefully placed and more like they had fallen from the tree on their own.</p>
<p>****</p>
<p>Smucky worked on the administrative side of the court building. She had been hired there after she turned 18 and graduated high school. She was shy and worked hard. There was a guy she went on a couple of dates with; he was a smooth-talker with red hair a year older than her. They had hung out a few times at his apartment where she met his good friend Skippy. </p>
<p>Skippy and the friend graduated from the same high school, a different one than the one Smucky graduated from. They hit it off pretty well, their shy and quiet natures lent them well to hide out and talk. In their talks, they realized how much they liked each other and began to date. </p>
<p>Because they worked disparate jobs, they used the friend as a messenger between them sometimes. Smucky found out how much Skippy likes peanut butter and she had a jar delivered via their mutual friend. In retaliation, he had a jar of grape jelly delivered via the same friend. </p>
<p>They had been dating a few months when Skippy introduced Smucky to his family. His younger sister bounded out of their uncle’s house to meet the girl that he willingly would inflict his family upon. Smucky had been warned but apparently had not taken Skippy’s warning about his sister to heart.</p>
<p>They were together through their birthdays and hard times for their families. Skippy’s mom died from cancer shortly after he was legally able to drink in the United States. Smucky suffered through her parents’ divorce. </p>
<p>They came together through these times and fell even more in love. </p>
<p>Skippy planned a beautiful proposal that Smucky had no idea was coming; she was only excited for cake. She agreed and they were both very happy. </p>
<p>Their vows included a beautiful piece of scripture from First Corinthians. </p>
<p>Their kiss as a newly married couple surprised everyone because Skippy dipped Smucky down to share their first kiss as husband and wife. </p>
<p>And they lived happily ever after.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>He wasn’t sure if he regretted agreeing to let her write her own vows or not. Certainly, they were touching. They were also engaging, thrilling, terrifying, sad, exciting, edge-of-the-seat-anticipation-inducing, and many other adjectives. Rather than vows, he would have to say, it sounded like she was an oral story-teller of old telling the tale of a young man and a young woman who found each other amidst the chaos and adventures - good and bad - in their lives. This was, of course, only emphasized by his recognition that she was adjusting how much detail she gave at certain points and when she moved on with the plot as she was going (he knew her tells), likely as a reaction to the response she was getting from him and the other guests. Well, this was a part of why he loved her. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Soon. </p>
<p>Grettia was terrified. She had an intense fear of public speaking. And crowds. And being in front of people in general. And suddenly developing a lisp while speaking. And tripping over her own feet. And being so scared that she froze. </p>
<p>It would be worth it, granted, but the notion that it was coming soon still gnawed at her every nerve. She should be excited, thrilled even. She should be grinning so hard that her face would break. She should be annoying everyone because she just wouldn’t shut up about it. But while she was happy about it, the fear was casting a dark shadow that kept getting larger. </p>
<p>Soon.</p>
<p>“You know, I was thinking,” Matthew’s voice pulled her out of the void that began sucking her in. “I think I’d like to change the wedding plans. Just have a small ceremony. You, me, the priest, your best friend, my little sister.” Grettia couldn’t believe her ears. Matthew had been looking forward to seeing all his friends and distant relatives, and meeting hers. Still, he continued as he placed a hand on her cheek. “And since our parents are right next to each other, it can be at the graveyard. Some might think it’s a bit morbid, but I really want them to be there.” Tears fell down her cheeks, and he wiped them away before pressing his forehead against hers. “The rest of the guests we were going to invite can be at the reception, and we’ll slip away early.”</p>
<p>Soon. </p>
<p>She smiled. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Why did the wedding reception have to be at the beach about fifteen minutes after the wedding once all the people in lab coats finished rearranging chairs and bringing out tables? Professor Dlaun, Professor Xoi, and Samantha had to bunker down in their palm-frond hideout for hours, and Samantha was quickly becoming stir crazy - not to mention her legs were cramping a little bit and she was getting very hungry. </p>
<p>The wedding had been around noon. It was now an hour or two after sunset.</p>
<p>The reception was still going on. </p>
<p>“How much longer?” Samantha whispered to no one in particular.</p>
<p>“Hopefully not much.” Professor Xoi whispered back.</p>
<p>“I wish we had our wedding cake with us.” Professor Dlaun whisper-whined. “My stomach hurts from being so hungry.” Oh boy. Professor Dlaun really did not like being in pain. “And my legs hurt from being scrunched up so long, and my back hurts.”</p>
<p>Samantha groaned internally and was just about to shift enough to cover her ears when her professor’s incessant whining about how much pain she was in was abruptly cut off after a brief shuffling sound next to her. Then she blushed and kicked Professor Xoi who was between her and Professor Dlaun.</p>
<p>“Get a room!” She whisper-shouted at the newlyweds who were now kissing.</p>
<p>“What? I made her stop complaining.” Professor Xoi replied in a cocky whisper. “Ow!”</p>
<p>A soft smacking sound caused Samantha to chuckle as she realized Professor Dlaun had smacked her husband’s head.</p>
<p>“No more kisses for you until we’re out of here.” Professor Dlaun stated sternly, though there was a lilt to her whisper that made her sound more playful than angry.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>L: “I don’t think anyone other than them will recognize that the woman in the hot pink dress is the best man.”</p>
<p>C: “Just gonna point out that I purposefully did that. They both said ‘I don’t think my thing will help’ and then she asked for both to fix the problem.”</p>
<p>L: “By the way, that’s one impressive buck knife.”<br/>C: “It is. It really is.”</p>
<p>L: “It’s also amazing no one heard that.”</p>
<p>C: How many of our couples end with death in there somewhere?<br/>L: That’s a completely different count.<br/>S: Yeah, we haven’t even tried to count that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. 20 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day 20 total: 0 words<br/>20-day total: 21,479 words</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nothing was written today.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. 21 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>More on our October trio and some new characters: Raven and Peppa! (Peppa becomes a continuing character, pay attention to her (and no, it is not because I wrote her!))</p><p>Day 21 total: 2,825 words<br/>21-day total: 24,304 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing this fic: C: "Oh, I need to go read something from the end of October to decide something about November." S: "L:, Are you afraid? Because I'm afraid." L: " Just a tiny little...  yes." C: while reading AD Sinrfun10's story "this is a great story to read redacted." </p><p>L: "I was wondering if there was a tragic Skippy or Smuckers commercial I didn't know about." S: "Nope. Also, did you know this is about ______."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Why did your promise include travel to alternate dimensions?!" Emilia called out, running with Greg and Samantha away from their former hiding spot. "Why would AD Samantha go behind the trees?" Emilia accused the Samantha that traveled with her.</p><p> "I don't know," Samantha yelled back. "Maybe she likes trees like me?! How would I know? We are <em>not</em> the same person!"</p><p>"Ladies, more running, less yelling," Greg panted.</p><p>Emilia's dress was stained, her hopes of potentially saving her dress for future children dashed by the new dimensional hop. </p><p>Closely behind the running trio were AD Samantha and AD Isabella. It looked like the trio's foresight on choosing running shoes was helping them outpace their scary pursuers. </p><p>They heard AD Isabella call out. Soon, they heard more shouts. </p><p>Greg attempted to joke, "I promised you for better or worse, can it be better already?"</p><p>***</p><p>Okay, this was definitely not what she wanted to say. For the millionth time, Raven crumpled up her vows and tossed them into the fire.</p><p>Honestly, the fact she was getting married still shocked her. It was a good kind of shock, but still shock. She had spent her entire life in a line of work that didn’t really allow for forming relationships. Well, not positive ones anyway. Making enemies was not uncommon, though most of the enemies didn’t actually know who she was to be able to enact vengeance.</p><p>She was loyal to her employers, but that was out of necessity, not desire. She didn’t fancy waking up with a dagger in her back. Of course, if there had been a dagger in her back, waking up probably wouldn't have followed.</p><p>Raven still didn’t know when she started feeling for him. Feelings were not something she could afford to have, so she had learned to repress them from a young age, yet somehow he had broken through the wall around her heart.</p><p>At first, the feelings had terrified her, and she tried to run from them, to run from him. In all honesty, she was still afraid, but at this point, there was no turning back, and she didn’t want to turn back anyway. </p><p>Raven dipped her quill into her invisible ink again and started writing her vows over.</p><p>*Add three ounces of vegetable oil and six counts of dried rosemary. After mixing, sprinkle lightly over the seared meat.*</p><p>She blushed. That was far too cheesy.</p><p>At the sound of light footsteps approaching and the creaking of the door, Raven rushed to hide the papers.</p><p>“You know Raven,” He hugged her from behind, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head. “I can’t read it even if you leave it in the open. Even if the ink was visible, your code just looks like a recipe to me. Never have been able to crack it.”</p><p>“They’re not ready.” She mumbled.</p><p>“Hmm?” He rested his chin at her head. What’s not ready?”</p><p>“My vows.”</p><p>“Oh.” She could swear he was smiling. “And?”</p><p>“The wedding is tonight! In less than an hour!” She worked around, catching him so he wouldn’t fall as she knocked him off balance.</p><p>“Raven,” he placed one hand on either side of her face, something that had taken her a long time to grow accustomed to and suppress her natural instincts to defend against. It was so comforting when he did it, though, that even if he meant to kill her, she would probably not pull away. “you don’t need to say anything special, or agonize about making it just right. I already know how much you love me.”</p><p>“But the vows are important.”</p><p>“You already gave me your vows.” </p><p>She looked at him with a raised brow. She definitely didn’t remember that.</p><p>He chuckled, the deep chuckle that gave her goosebumps, and not the kind that said danger was approaching. The good kind.</p><p>“I believe it went something like ‘if you want to kill him, you will have to kill me first. No matter who it is or when it is, I will protect him. He is mine.’” He pulled her into a tight hug. “And don’t think I don’t know that he was your boss.”</p><p>“Wait, but didn’t you think I was just marking my territory?” She had still had a contract to kill him at the time. Not that she was going to go through with it. She had tried to, multiple times, but every time she almost did, something stopped her. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it.</p><p>“Raven, if you had wanted to kill me, I would have already been dead by then. And I wouldn’t let just anyone kill me.” He gave her a tight squeeze. “Come on, Father Milke got an emergency call from the church, so he has to leave sooner than planned. Let’s go get married.”</p><p>***</p><p>Right when the trio was about to be captured by a large number of people in white lab coats, something happened that, for once, wasn’t a bad something...</p><p>Mostly.</p><p>A white-gold sparkling light seemed to emanate from the chests of each of the three interdimensional travelers, swirl around them, and then a familiar tingling sensation that seemed to accompany teleportation swept through them.</p><p>“So, where are we now?” Greg asked.</p><p>Samantha shrugged. “New Zealand? There are a lot of forests there… I think.”</p><p> Emilia was about to add to the conversation but was stopped by the coalescing of the white-gold light which had still been swirling around them. </p><p>The light now took on a vaguely feminine humanoid shape and spoke in a soft, ethereal voice. “I apologize for putting you in danger; however, you are still needed in this land, and my power is limited. When you can escape on your own, you will need to do so.”</p><p>“Uh...” “Who?” “What?” The three were very confused by this new development.</p><p>The ethereal female chuckled. “I will explain briefly, for I cannot maintain this form for long. You recall the box you destroyed in this world’s Africa, yes?”</p><p>Emilia nodded cautiously and noticed the others do the same. Samantha began fingering her hot pink buck knife.</p><p>“I was trapped by the Possessor long ago, and it suppressed and leeched my power. When you defeated him, you freed me. However, after so many years trapped with the Possessor, my power has weakened, and I cannot maintain my existence for long without a vessel.”</p><p>Ah. Somehow Emilia was no longer surprised by such revelations.</p><p>“I do not, however, wish to harm my vessel.” The ethereal woman continued, “and a mortal cannot accept all of my being without losing themselves; thus, I have separated my existence between the three of you.” She paused as if considering how best to explain the rest. “I am an embodiment of what you mortals call ‘Hope’ and my power is tied to such. In order to return you to this world in order to save it, I used the expression of hope contained within your wedding vows to one another.”</p><p>Samantha glared at Greg and Emilia. “So it *was* your fault.”</p><p>The ethereal woman chuckled again, and then her form shuddered, the white-gold light beginning to splinter. “It seems my time is up. You three are the Hope for this world. Stopping the Evil in this world is something only you can do. This is your task.” With her final words, the light burst and splintered into three portions, shooting once again into the chests of each of the three interdimensional travelers.</p><p>***</p><p>Peppa dropped the binder. All the papers inside fell across the hallway floor. She scrambled to make sure that her hard work wasn't destroyed by the stumbling of her classmates putting their dirty shoes all over it.</p><p>She had saved most of it by the time the late bell rang, but she belatedly realized that someone else had been helping her. </p><p>He silently held out the papers to her and she gently took them and shoved them back into the binder. She thanked him and ran to World History.</p><p>Unknown to her, he found one last page and when he went to find her, she had disappeared.</p><p>That night, Peppa opened her wedding planner book. Her mom had her to help plan the wedding between her older sister and her fiancé. Peppa liked her sister, but she had no idea what her sister saw in him. They were very much opposites, but the heart wants what the heart wants.</p><p>Peppa was putting her binder back together from the disaster that happened at school. She reorganized the binder. Wedding colors were first, followed by options for venue, flowers, food, and cake. The next section was all about the people in the wedding. The first part of this section was all about Paige and Whims. (Whims was a nickname that stemmed from an abbreviation of his last name, Williams.) The next part of this section involved the wedding party. Paige was whittling the number of bridesmaids down to eight and Whims needed to add at least one more groomsman to balance out Paige's side. They had already decided that Peppa was going to be the flower girl. Peppa wasn't entirely happy about this decision, but her mother told her to put on her boots and deal with it. The couple was still quibbling over who they were going to pressgang into being the ringbearer. There were no ideas in the binder because they had no idea either. Peppa sighed just looking at that section. The third and last part of the people section was the guest list. Peppa despaired at either of them agreeing on the amount of people at the wedding and reception. </p><p>The last part of the binder was Peppa's favorite. It contained their vows. And the list of people giving toasts. And the song lists. But Peppa loved the vows. </p><p>Paige and Whims swore Peppa to secrecy. She made copies of what each of them were working on on her tablet and printed out for the binder their vows. Peppa ensured that the vows stayed private by translating them into code.</p><p>After reorganizing the rest of the binder, she got to this section and stopped. The vows were missing. Peppa kept them at the front of this section because she liked to look at what Paige and Whims wrote about each other.</p><p>Peppa lost their encoded vows! Admittedly, this wasn't as big of a deal as Peppa was making it out to be, but she didn't know who had the vows and if they would be decoded and found by either her sister, Whims, or someone else connected to them. Her vow of secrecy may be coming to an end. </p><p>Peppa quickly finished reorganizing the binder and returned it to its place of prominence in her desk. She proceeded to make a list of everyone that had been in contact with the binder after the incident. Besides herself, there was only one person on the list: the boy that picked up the pages. Peppa gave herself a quest for school on Monday: find the boy and interrogate him about the vows.</p><p>***</p><p>Mariana ran as fast as she could with the layers upon layers of her dress weighing her down. Really, a wedding dress was not an ideal get-away outfit, especially when her mother had forced her to wear high heels with the dress as well. To be fair, the length of the skirt meant that without high heels, she would be walking on the front of the dress. But it could have been tailored.</p><p>Her train wasn’t helping either. It was far too long to be left dragging behind her or her pursuers would use it to trip and catch her, so she had it bundled up awkwardly in her arms while she ran. She had to keep one hand on top of the pile so it didn’t whip up into her face.</p><p>How was she supposed to know her vows would cause this?</p><p>“So, can I carry you this time?” Rob laughed as he ran up beside her, his once white suit already stained with dirt.</p><p>Mariana wanted so badly to say no, but it would undoubtedly be easier to move that way right now. “Fine.”</p><p>Rob looked at her for a moment with shock before whooping for joy and scooping her up in his arms.</p><p>“So, where to?” He asked.</p><p>“The forest.” Mariana replied, knowing Rob would head for their hideout where they could (a) evade their pursuers, and (b) get a change of clothes - probably green ones.  Unless Scarlet had been messing with their cache of emergency clothes again.</p><p>“You know, I thought we were past the whole ‘death to the outlaws’ thing at this point.” Mariana complained.</p><p>Rob laughed. “It’s because we invited Sherry and Princess Johanna. They’re still holding a grudge.”</p><p>***</p><p>Soooo, they were in fact in New Zealand. Well, AD New Zealand anyway. They had figured this out because, after wandering through the forest for a while, they stumbled across the Bag-End set that had been converted into a permanent tourist attraction after the making of the Hobbit movies.</p><p>“If only this were a really hobbit hole.” Samantha commented, knocking on the door - which was probably not allowed, but it was after dark and there was no one else around.</p><p>“How exactly would that help?” An exhausted Greg questioned. “I mean, yeah it would be cool to meet a hobbit, but…”</p><p>“Food.” Samantha replied.</p><p>Emilia’s mouth watered just from hearing the word. After the wedding reception that lasted half a day and being teleported to New Zealand, (it was dark there too, but what the time difference was…) they had wandered around for a few more hours and found no source of food.</p><p>“Who is knocking on my door at four in the morning?” A grumpy old man opened the Bag-end door, shocking all three interdimensional travelers.</p><p>“Hobbit!?” Samantha shrieked, jumping back three feet. Then she took a closer look at the *very tall* old man who had stepped out of the door. “You’re not a hobbit.”</p><p>The man frowned and looked between the three travelers. “No, I’m not a hobbit - whatever that is. And what are you supposed to be? A traveling wedding circus?”</p><p>“Not exactly.” Emilia took it upon herself to be the group’s diplomat. Samantha was usually too blunt and Greg had a habit of accidentally hitting sore spots - especially when Samantha was around. “We,” Emilia motioned to herself and Greg, “were getting married, and she was our maid of honor and best man.” She indicated Samantha.</p><p>The man looked at her suspiciously. “And then you came here?”</p><p>Emilia nodded - so far the half-truths were sort of working. “Well, we were found by some” She paused looking for the right word. “Enemies of ours, and we were chased into the forest where we lost them. But we got lost and ended up here with no supplies and no food.”</p><p>The man grunted. He didn’t seem happy, but he did seem to believe her story. “Well, come in first. I have some leftovers and a few extra beds you can use.”</p><p>Samantha was grateful for the food and bed, but felt offended that their host didn't know what a hobbit was. </p><p>"Do you have internet? I really need to look something up before I go to sleep. Is that ok?" Samantha asked, as innocently and bashfully as a pretty young woman in a cut-up hot pink dress could.</p><p>Their host grunted and led her to an old desktop. Samantha got on the computer and searched the author of her favorite stories, stories about Middle Earth and the Third Age. He existed, but only as a linguist. He didn't write books in this dimension. Samantha internally panicked. She looked up another of her favorite authors. He also didn't write in this dimension. Samantha shut down the computer and took deep breaths to the bedroom the newlyweds were sharing. She listened to be sure that the room was safe to enter and knocked lightly.</p><p>Greg opened the door. </p><p> "I know why Evil prevails in this dimension!" She burst out.</p><p> Greg ushered her in the room. Emilia was sitting up in the bed. Emilia gestured for Samantha to continue.</p><p> "J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are not published authors in this dimension. <em>The Hobbit</em>, <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>, and <em>The Chronicles of Narnia</em> don't exist here!"</p><p> Her two companions looked blankly at Samantha. Samantha sighed heavily.</p><p> "Both of these authors wrote about morality and how war was bad. We need to find out what else is different in this dimension and fast."</p><p> ***</p><p>It was Monday. Peppa began her quest for the boy and the vows. It did not go well.</p><p>Peppa looked for him everywhere, but it seemed like every time she got a glimpse of him, he disappeared. Was he a part of a nefarious plot to steal her sister's vows? To steal Whims' vows?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>S: L, what the heck am I reading? What did you do, L?<br/>C: L, you’re in charge of writing the comments for this one because I want to be able to make them.<br/>S: She blushed after writing a recipe. What were the implications of that?<br/>C: I’m guessing a code.</p><p>S: I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE! *pointing at L*</p><p>S: “Okay, that is ridiculously adorable even though it’s obvious she’s an assassin.”<br/>C: “It so is.”</p><p>S: “You (L:) started it.”<br/>C: “Yes, you (L:) did. I escape blame.”<br/>S: “No you continued it.”<br/>Something…<br/>L: “At some point I stopped trying because I didn’t want to sort out what S: blacked out.”<br/>C: “Okay, we’re all to blame.:</p><p>S: *laughing at what was coming up that she had blacked*</p><p>L: “This is what you meant by Pandora’s Box.”</p><p>L: “You know, it’s sad that I’m not either.”</p><p>L: “So, I was right. She’s possessing them.”<br/>C: “Sort of.”<br/>S: “Wait, wait, it gets better.”</p><p>L: “Yeah, yeah, not obvious at all there, C:.”</p><p>S: “So, do you like the reveal that you got?”<br/>L: “I’m not sure whether I should be glaring at you (S:) or C:.”<br/>S: “Both. Definitely both.”</p><p>C: I love that in one sentence she says it wasn’t a big deal and in the next she’s freaking out about how her vow is coming to an end.<br/>S: Meh. *Self-satisfied shrug*</p><p>L: That’s where I ended.<br/>C: Yes, and that’s where I got it, and I decided it was Robin Hood. And the way it became Robin Hood is that I glanced at Mariana, saw Marian, glanced again, saw that it wasn’t, and decided “I can do this.”<br/>S: That honestly sounds like any of us on any of these stories.</p><p>L: “All the LOTR nerds in the world say ‘yeah, absolutely.”<br/>C: *internally* Us included<br/>After a moment L: “LOTR nerds feel disappointed.”</p><p>L: “So it’s your fault!” to S:<br/>C: “Well, I implied it.”<br/>S: “She vaguely implied it. I took it and ran with it.”<br/>Discussion about implications and explicit statements that leads to LOTR nerds gasping in horror.</p><p>L: “I’m feeling the same right now” - referring to Samantha’s horror and panic over the realization that AD Tolkien and AD Lewis were not authors</p><p>L: inserts lots of side comments regarding her horror at this development while reading<br/>L: I appreciate that you didn’t leave yourself out *said to S.*</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. 22 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Introducing Corona, Rhea, Elsie, Juan, Michael, Grace, Michael, Lady Scarlet, Mr. Plumb, and more on our October people and Peppa!</p>
<p>Day 22 total: 3,038 words<br/>22-day total: 27,342 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>S: "You both write on the wrong day." Directed to Calenlas, " Fix it."<br/>"She has a self-satisfied smirk and shifty eyes."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Corona was sick and tired of people making COVID jokes about her relationship. They ranged from talking about how she took his breath away to saying she made him sick with love. She had even heard some of them say he was infected with Corona and couldn’t shake her off.</p>
<p>Not only did she feel like people were making light of a serious disease, it hurt that she was being compared to a disease. It was like they were saying she was some kind of evil person taking advantage of him rather than a person who truly loved him.</p>
<p>It didn’t help that people had taken to “joking” that they should stay away from her so they wouldn’t get sick. It wasn’t funny.</p>
<p>Her parents had named her Corona as a wish that she would have a big heart. They taught her to love and to open her heart to the people around her. The problem was that while the good feelings got in, the bad ones did too. The bigger your heart is, the easier it is to get hurt, or so Corona felt anyway. And having the name her parents gave her as a wish for goodness in her and in her life be the butt of COVID jokes hurt a lot. </p>
<p>“Run! Corona’s on the loose again!” George, one of her coworkers, called out as she entered the room. Her other coworkers seemed to find his joke hilarious as they all started laughing.</p>
<p>He didn't even have his mask on properly. It covered his mouth, but not his nose, and everyone knew that he had been traveling to an area that got hit hard by COVID cases less than a week ago. He wasn’t even supposed to come into work for another week and a half and after getting screened. Meanwhile, Corona had her mask on properly, she had been screened and cleared multiple times, the last time just two days ago which, by the way, she had been required to do even though it was less than a week since the last time she was cleared because some of the higher ups had heard her coworkers making jokes and thought they were actually concerned about her having COVID.</p>
<p>After work and many more COVID-Corona jokes, Corona was in a terrible mood. She skipped going to the grocery store and went directly home instead, curling up on the couch with a box of tissues.</p>
<p>Maybe what made this the most unbearable was that it was only two months after they had made their vows to each other, to love and cherish each other through life and death, through sickness and health. Maybe what made it worse than that was that she had brought COVID home only a week later and gotten him sick. And it definitely didn’t help that while she was able to recover fully with only mild symptoms (the doctors agreed she was more of a carrier than an exhibitor), he had been hospitalized for a long time. She felt responsible, and the jokes just reinforced that guilt.</p>
<p>While she spiraled down, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and realized she had forgotten to turn the sound back on. She pulled the phone out and saw the caller ID indicated that it was the hospital.</p>
<p>“Hello?”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“And when I am all alone, I know you will be there, and you will care.” Rhea hummed along with the chorus of one of her favorite songs as she scribbled on a piece of paper. “And when I am in tears, I know you will be there, and you will wipe them away. And when I am excited, I know you will be there, and you will be smiling with me.”</p>
<p>Rhea had been listening to this song since she was little. It had been on a CD she had found tucked into a drawer of the desk in her father’s study. When she asked him about it, he had gotten a far-away look in his eyes and turned away mumbling something about needing to feed the dog. It wasn’t until she had told him about her engagement that he finally told her the story.</p>
<p>When he was young, he had met a girl who he thought was the most beautiful person in the world, not because of her freckles (though he found them adorable) or because of her frizzy blonde curls (though he thought they were as bright and lively as the sun), but because of her big heart and melodious voice. </p>
<p>The first time they met, he told Rhea, was when the girl fell out of a tree while trying to save a kitten. Thankfully, she hadn’t gotten hurt, though she did hurt his stomach as she fell directly onto him where he had fallen asleep a half hour earlier. Apparently, her climbing hadn’t woken him up because he was a heavy sleeper.</p>
<p>They got to know each other, and he fell head over heels for her, but never quite got up the courage to tell her. He always felt like he wasn’t good enough for her, he had said. And so he had stayed by her side as a close friend as she dated and broke up with several boys, tried, failed, tried again, and eventually made a career as a singer, suffered with a case of depression, almost lost her career, and searched for her own voice again.</p>
<p>He encouraged her when she needed it, listened when she just needed to talk, and celebrated with her when she had little successes. Yet he never told her about his feelings.</p>
<p>He had thought, he explained, that he was destined to hold an unrequited torch for her until his dying breath, but then he heard it. The song that was burned on this CD was the first song the girl sang when she returned to the stage. She had dedicated it to the friend who stood beside her through everything, and when the concert was over, she had asked him if he would go on a date with her.</p>
<p>Two months later, they were married, and a year after that, Rhea was born.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Rhea’s mother had passed away in a car accident when she was only two years old, but her father had always made sure that she was loved, and now she realized that her mom had been with her too.</p>
<p>“Whatcha workin’ on little lady?” Her father came into the study where she was still busy scribbling away.</p>
<p>“My vows.” She looked up at him. “Do you think he’ll like them?”</p>
<p>“I know he will.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>After having assured Samantha that they would certainly find all the differences between the two worlds they could and that, if possible, they would convince descendants of her two favorite authors to write the masterworks of literature she assured them could save the world, Greg went to ask their host if he could spare some old clothes and a sewing kit. Thankfully, the grumpy old man seemed to be more bark than bite and gave Greg six sets of clothes, a sewing kit that came complete with twenty different colors of thread, and even three knapsacks that he claimed he had no use for anymore despite the fact that he had to take quite a few things out of them. He also told Greg to come with him to the pantry after he dropped the clothes and sewing kit off with Em for tailoring.</p>
<p>“You’ll be needin’ food and some other gear if ya want to make it to the city - if you’re going by foot anyway. It’s a seven-hour walk over terrain that you folks don’t look like you’re used to. I’d give you a lift but my mule’s got a busted leg and I don’t much care for automobiles.” The old man explained as he led Greg here and there, grabbing more food than Greg was sure the three could possibly eat during a seven-hour walk - even if they were munching on something the entire time. “Since you’ve got some people after you, it may be wise to stay a little off the path and be ready to get run off.”</p>
<p>So that was it. Greg chuckled to himself. The old man was preparing them for the worst-case scenario even though he could just send them to the city and forget about it. It seemed not everyone in this dimension was evil.</p>
<p>Right when Greg had come to that realization, the old man led him out of the pantry and to another room which seemed to have lots of survival gear - collapsible shovels, fishing poles, hunting traps, skinning knives, camping gear, and more. The old man helped Greg gather pretty much everything they might need to survive for quite a while in the wilderness and even showed him how to use some of the less common gear.</p>
<p>“Thank you, really.” Greg told the man after everything was gathered.</p>
<p>The man grunted. “Yeah, well, you had better get off to bed, then. The sun’ll be rising soon, though you might want to let the ladies sleep in and have a late breakfast before you head out... might mean you have to walk a bit after dark, but that might not be such a bad thing anyway if you’re being tracked.”</p>
<p>Greg nodded, thanked the man again, and made his way back to the room he was sharing with Em. He entered the room to find three roughly tailored outfits (just basic tucks and cuffs where needed to make them fit the three interdimensional travelers) laying on the end of the bed and Em fast asleep with a fourth shirt in her hands where she sat in a wicker chair.</p>
<p>Greg carefully plucked the shirt from her hands and then lifted his wife - oh how he loved the sound of that - into the bed before climbing under the covers himself.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Elsie paced back and forth impatiently. After years of isolating herself from others to protect them, she was rather starved for affection and had trouble waiting for anyone who was supposed to meet her now that she knew it was safe.</p>
<p>Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long for Juan to come flying in with a blast of cold wind and skid to a halt inches away from crashing into her.</p>
<p>“You’re late.” She stated, trying to sound serious even as she felt a grin tugging at the edge of her lips.</p>
<p>“The hero is always late.” Juan replied swiftly. “It’s more dramatic.”</p>
<p>Elsie laughed and kissed his cheek. “If only you were the hero then.”</p>
<p>“You wound me.” Juan stated dramatically, placing his hands over his heart in mock horror before laughing evermore heartily than she had.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Corona answered the phone with trepidation. Her hello had been shaky and half-mumbled. It would not take much for her to spiral further down tonight. </p>
<p> "Corona, love, why am I not allowed to see you? I miss you my love," her husband pleaded over the phone.</p>
<p>Corona gave a wet-filled laugh. "I miss you too, Michael."</p>
<p>She hugged her phone closer to her ear. She needed the closeness of his voice to help her through the night. Not being able to go to the hospital made her feel like she was breaking her vows to be with him through better or worse. She understood why she couldn't be there, but her brain knowing and understanding didn't stop her heart from hurting. </p>
<p>They talked. They talked like they used to do at the beginning of their relationship. They talked about nonsense. They talked about future plans. They talked, not caring about the phone bill they were going to be charged with on top of any hospital expenses. They talked about everything except for one's guilt of getting her husband sick.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It was then in the morning early<br/>
When Grace did walk along the aisle<br/>
And with her darling then was joined as one<br/>
And in most holy union ever more<br/>
Were Grace and Michael sworn to love</p>
<p>Unto his lovely wife did swear<br/>
Young Michael love undying and most true<br/>
That e’er would last and e’er would care for her<br/>
And none did doubt the honest heart in him<br/>
As in his eyes shown Grace and Grace alone</p>
<p>And for her part did Grace unto him swear<br/>
To be most true and never far from him<br/>
In heart, in soul, in all her self and more<br/>
A promise for to be most true in love<br/>
So always he would know her care for him</p>
<p>Before the holy man and God himself<br/>
This blesséd union was made whole and good<br/>
Through words and promises spoken from heart<br/>
Their happy souls fore’er entwined as one<br/>
As lips brush lightly and the promise seal</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Scarlet laughed to herself as she skipped away from the hideout carrying all of the green clothes that had been stored there after leaving behind lots of red garments in varying shades (heavy on the crimsons). She laughed all the way to the forest edge on the Yorkingdale side (away from Hamnoten where the wedding was taking place). She laughed all the way through the streets and into the tailor’s shop where she plopped down the large pile of green fabric and called for the tailor to come and make a purchase.</p>
<p>Then she saw him.</p>
<p>Mr. Plumb.</p>
<p>He was a tall, bookish man always wearing spectacles with reddish, brown hair of such a hue that it almost seemed purplish - a color further emphasized by his clothing which was all shades of deep purples from burgundy to wine to eggplant. He was studious and careful with his measurements. He was in many ways an opposite to Scarlet’s flashy and fiery carefree nature.</p>
<p>And Scarlet was fascinated by him.</p>
<p>Water and oil, fire and ice, light and dark: these and many more pairs of oppositions were lauded for how well they complemented each other even as they clashed. Certainly, she and Mr. Plumb would be the same.</p>
<p>“Ah, Lady Scarlet, you are here again.” Mr. Plumb greeted her.</p>
<p>Scarlet leaned against the counter, trying to look as relaxed and nonchalant as possible. “Yep.” She grinned cockily. “I’ve got more garments for sale.”</p>
<p>Mr. Plumb began fingering one of the shirts, then some leggings, taking stock of what articles of clothing there were in what size and what number. “Fine quality as always.” His practised speech flowed elegantly from his lips. “Though I always wonder why the clothing you trade in comes only in Abraham Green.”</p>
<p>Scarlet playfully put a finger to her lips and winked. “That’s a secret!”</p>
<p>Mr. Plumb chuckled. “You are always so full of secrets.” He mused. “I wonder who will be the lucky man to uncover them.”</p>
<p>“So do I.” Scarlet gazed at the rather dense man she had come to admire. She had given him so many hints in the past three years.</p>
<p>A look crossed Mr. Plumb’s face that Scarlet had seen many times yet she was still unable to interpret. She called it his puzzler face because she usually saw it when he was contemplating something. She had grown so fond of this face that she occasionally brought ridiculous riddles to him claiming she had gotten into a bet about whether she could solve them or not and was going to be in trouble if she showed up without the answer.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t you know that he solved every single one?</p>
<p>She wondered what he was puzzling over now.</p>
<p>****</p>
<p>"She is beauty and grace! A vision in white lace! My bride, my bride! I vow to love her 'til I die, she's the prettiest woman to my eye! My bride, my bride!" He slurred loudly across the dance floor. </p>
<p> A pretty woman with red braids shook her head and laughed. "I can't take him anywhere before he starts spouting off all the wonderful things he promised me." </p>
<p>The younger woman standing next to her, looked at her and back to the man. "You married that crazy fool?"</p>
<p> "I married him many years ago. I loved him then. I love him now. That won't change." She leaned in closely to the woman next to her, "He promised me forever and meant it. He means it every time he says it. He is faithful to his vows and so am I. I'd be a bigger fool than he is acting now to walk away. When you find someone that loves like that and keeps their promises, you only leave if you die."</p>
<p> ****</p>
<p>Peppa didn't see the boy or the encoded vows the rest of the week during the school day. She was getting more frantic and her brain was churning out idea after horrifying idea about what the mysterious boy was doing with the vows.</p>
<p>Peppa had to go to her locker after debate team practice Friday afternoon. She opened her locker for a note to fall out of it. She examined the note to see if she recognized the handwriting. She didn't. 'It must be from the boy!' She thought, completely forgetting her math homework in her haste to open the note. </p>
<p>She ripped the note from its intricate fold. The folding was beautiful, but Peppa had no patience for it. </p>
<p>The note was the beginning of a scavenger hunt. The end result would put the vows in her hands. </p>
<p>Peppa was furious. When she found this boy...well, not nice things were going to happen!</p>
<p>She stalked off to where the first clue told her to go. The clue was easy. Getting the next note wasn't. Peppa thought the boy forgot how tall she was because the next clue was on top of the school mascot's hat. Funnily enough, her sister's graduating class had gifted the statue to the school. </p>
<p>It took Peppa a little while to get the second clue, but the second clue only tempered her rage slightly. It directed her to the baseball diamond, on the opposite side of campus. The cooling part of the clue was the reassurance that the pages (aka the vows) were perfectly intact and waiting at the end of this hunt.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>S: “Harsh L:”<br/>L: “Trust me. It gets worse.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>S: “I just realized he sounds like an NPC.”<br/>C: &amp; L: “He does!”</p>
<p>L: “Greg just got the tutorial.”</p>
<p>S: after reading Elsie and Juan “How is that vows?”<br/>C:  “I meant to go back to them, but then I forgot about it.”</p>
<p>L: “You know how that happened? I wrote Grace, and then I thought, ‘I’m going to have all awesome metaphor and allusion and all that cool stuff.’”<br/>C: “And then you looked back at Corona, right?”<br/>L: “No, and then I didn’t.”</p>
<p>L: “Our Robin Hood story turned Clue.”<br/>C:  “Yes.”</p>
<p>L: “You (S:) have no idea how many pairs I threw out when she (C:) asked, ‘what’s another pair like water and oil?”</p>
<p>S: “I love how you’re emphasizing how their clothes would clash too, not just their personalities.”<br/>C: “That was accidental.”<br/>L: “That happens all the time.”<br/>S: “Or maybe that was just the English major in me pulling out something the author didn’t even intend.”<br/>L: “That also happens all the time.”</p>
<p>L: “I love that it actually turns out that the one who thought the other was dense was actually the dense one.”<br/>C: “No, they’re both dense.”</p>
<p>L: and C: “That was so sweet!”<br/>S: “Yeah, it starts off all rambunctious and loud and ends up being so sweet.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. 23 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We begin with a new style of romance: Romeo and Juliet! Just kidding, the premise is similar though. A new connection to character mentioned in passing in an earlier story, Peppa pops up again, someone locked in, and a love story that I have no idea who either character is but it reads really nicely.</p>
<p>Day 23 total: 2,582 words<br/>23-day total: 29,924 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comment's made while writing this fic: "L: should never be allowed to write with a headache. And she really shouldn't be allowed to hand over a story like that to me (C:) when I also have a headache."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Herewrit are the vows of one Stephanie Greich for her wedding to one Frian Delsan.” Grishna announced as he held a few pages in the air, just high enough for both warring factions to see. “Also, herewrit” He held up a few more pages in his other hand “are the vows of one Frian Delsan for his wedding to one Stephanie Greich.”</p>
<p>It seemed, for a moment, as if neither side had heard him, but just as he was about to repeat what he had said louder, the fighting stopped as nearly every person froze, then turned to face Grishna with jaws dropped and eyes round.</p>
<p>“What’d ya say boy?” Frian’s father shook himself out of his stupor and asked. It irked him that the man insisted on calling him a boy as he was already thirty years old - and happily married with two children running about and another on the way.</p>
<p>“I think you heard me just fine, old man.” Perhaps antagonizing him wasn’t the best choice, but Grishna couldn’t resist. “Now, if you would all indulge me for a moment, I will explain how I came to have these in my possession.”</p>
<p>“But how do we know ya ain’t pullin’ our leg?” That was Ren Delsan, Frian’s older brother and hot-head extraordinaire. “Ya could be holdin’ up your grocery list for all we know.”</p>
<p>“Patience, and I will prove to you what I hold is what I claim it to be.” Grishna knew patience was largely an unheard of quality for the Greich and Delsan families. </p>
<p>“This ‘ad better not be a joke.” Endil Griech, Stephanie’s cousin rejoined. “Or you ain’t gonna be too happy we’re ‘having patience’ with ya now.”</p>
<p>Grishna swallowed hard. Sure, he was telling the truth, but that was still a threat that he didn’t like. He shook himself to dislodge any lingering discomfort and began telling the story of the century.</p>
<p>“It all started one billion years ago, when-”</p>
<p>“Hey, hey, hey!” Stepahnie’s uncle interrupted. “Our Stephanie and that Delsan whelp weren’t even born yet one billion years ago!”</p>
<p>“No,” Grishna conceded, “but their story begins then nonetheless.” He sighed as several threats were thrown in his general direction. This was going to be a long day. “The Ancient Deities still walked the earth at the time, as you know, and among them were Shinan, Goddess of Harvest, and Ferinei, God of Famine. Two opposing forces constantly at war with one another.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Mr. Plumb knew Scarlet liked him. She had been rather obvious about it. And he liked her too. He had tried to tell her as much on numerous occasions - like when he wondered aloud about who would be lucky enough to unravel the secrets around her or that time he had offered to escort her home because it was rather late and a young woman shouldn’t be out so late by herself since it wasn’t safe. Somehow, though, it just came off as him being a nice guy.</p>
<p>He sighed.</p>
<p>Scarlet watched him intently as he counted the Abraham green clothes and totalled how much he would pay for them - which was more than any other tailor would probably spend on such a large quantity on Abraham green clothing considering few people bought such clothes in bulk. Still, he knew this was Scarlet’s excuse for seeing him all the time. Well, that and purchasing an equivalent amount of red clothes about a week after selling the green ones. It was a routine he was accustomed to at this point, and one that had increased his knowledge of textile suppliers since he had literally bought out his original supplier’s supply of red cloth to keep up with Scarlet’s purchases. Still, until he had figured out a way to actually tell her he liked her, this would be a continuing pattern.</p>
<p>While he worked - as slowly as possible without looking foolish - Mr. Plumb occupied his time with a casual conversation with Scarlet. When she left, smiling as widely as ever, he closed the shop for the day - it was a town holiday in Yorkingdale and all the other shops were closed and no one would be coming by, but today was the day that Scarlet usually appeared, so he had kept the shop open until after she left.</p>
<p>He sighed.</p>
<p>When would he be able to tell her?</p>
<p>Mr. Plumb began milling through the vows he was planning for the wedding that, he assured himself, he would one day have with Scarlet.</p>
<p>‘I vow to tell you everyday how much I love you. I vow to honor and cherish you forever.’ Those were the core vows that all the others were centered on. He had vows about Abraham green and crimson red clothing, about riddles and walks and pastries, and many more mundane things. He had vows about how he would listen to her whenever she had worries and be there for her whenever she needed or wanted him. He had vows about just about everything.</p>
<p>And he was too nervous to say even one of them aloud.</p>
<p>****<br/>
Peppa's walk to the baseball diamond was long and tiring. Debate practice had run late and she knew that she was free until her parent-imposed curfew of nine, but this cut into her all over binder obsession/fantasy time that she liked to have every day. </p>
<p>The long walk allowed her to fantasize about her future vows and the potential man she wants to marry. Waay off in the future. </p>
<p>The diamond is lit up, like someone just turned the field lights on. 'Now which dugout did he mean?' She ponders before rereading the clue. </p>
<p>"A diamond is given after a yes, what you seek is near a large diamond on campus. A game with nine players plays on one, your pages are safe, your next clue is under the host's bench," Peppa read aloud. "Now which is the home bench?"</p>
<p> Peppa was not into sports much, and doesn't know how the dugouts are set up. She looked at each one. One had the mascot on it! That must be the home team's dugout! She breathed out a heavy relieved breath and stumbled her way into the dugout.</p>
<p>She looked under the bench and found a series of small cubbies. She found a piece of paper, folded similarly to the first ones in the third cubby down. </p>
<p>She opened it up to find this: 'The pages you seek were encoded well. I broke the code, and read them well. The next clue can be found where waters swell.'</p>
<p> "What does this mean?!" She screamed.</p>
<p> ****</p>
<p>Shinan had a child. This child began the Greich family line. It was named the Greich line for the family that fostered the Child of Harvest began to have great bountiful harvests. To honor their goddess, they incorporated great into the family name of Lich and named the Child, Nash Greich.</p>
<p>Ferinei was jealous at Shinan's ability to have progeny and blessed a different child to be his own. Ferinei's child began the Delsan clan. The child he blessed helped reduce the great bountiful harvests the newly named Greich family had. </p>
<p>The Greich family did not know about the Child of Famine and pleaded with their goddess to save their harvests. Shinan discovered Ferinei's plan and told her followers to kill the Child of Famine.</p>
<p>Ferinei chose his Child well. This child was the only child to survive outside the womb. His mother had many difficult pregnancies and his father refused to try for more children after their miracle was born. The Child of Famine's parents would kill for their child to live. </p>
<p>When Shinan gave her edict, the Greich family's eldest son, Wil, sent out to accomplish the task. He did not return to the farm. The father of Wil went to find his son. He encountered the Famine Child's birth father and he told what happened to Wil. Wil's father pleaded for Neis to be lying and to kill his beloved child. Neis refused to kill his son, Iref. Neis was slain where he stood.</p>
<p>The Greich father went home, grieving his eldest child. He announced to the family what had happened. </p>
<p>Iref waited for his father to come home. An additional day after he was to be home, Iref and his mother went searching for him. They found his body near where Neis had buried the man that tried to kill Iref. Neis' body lay on top of the ground, motionless and left like an eaten apple core, sitting out to rot.</p>
<p>This infuriated Iref and his mother. They prayed to Ferinei and Ferinei guided them away from their home. He told his blessed child to marry well and bring many children into the world. Ferinei told Iref that the Greich family was large, so he had to build his family up to rival them.</p>
<p>Both families swore vengeance on their slain members.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Risa didn’t know what to do.</p>
<p>She had spent days working on her vows. After starting over at least a hundred times, she had finally managed to write what she felt were the perfect vows. She had lost sleep and skipped meals in order to write them. </p>
<p>And now they were gone. GONE.</p>
<p>It was only one hour before her wedding, and her vows were nothing but a wet pile of ashes in the fireplace. </p>
<p>“So, what will you do now?” The cocky voice grated on her nerves.</p>
<p>“You don’t really think burning my vows would stop me from marrying him.”</p>
<p>“No.” The woman replied. “I think locking you in this room will stop you.”</p>
<p>“Just try it.” Risa spat. “You won’t make it to the door.”</p>
<p>The woman laughed. “As if I’d be that dumb.”</p>
<p>Risa’s heart sank. She ran to the door.</p>
<p>It was locked.</p>
<p>“I told you.” The woman chided. “And don’t bother picking the lock - there are obstacles on the other side of the door to prevent it from opening. A magician couldn’t even get in here.”</p>
<p>This was bad. They were in a central sitting room with no windows and only the one door. Even if the walls were breakable, which they weren’t, the rooms on the three sides that weren’t the hallway outside the door were the treasury, the dungeon, and her father’s office - the three most heavily protected chambers in the house built in such a way that someone who breaks in cannot break out. There were only a few people in the house right now, and the walls were thick so no one would hear her call for help. Even if there was a fire in the fireplace, it would only be foolhardy to set the room on fire, nor would threatening her captor’s life help. Even though she was stronger and would definitely win, there was no doubt in her mind that woman would sooner die than let this wedding happen.</p>
<p>“Well, shall we enjoy a nice cup of tea?” The woman questioned, taking a nonchalant seat on the sofa.</p>
<p>Risa glared.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>How long had it been since someone could see him?</p>
<p>She was only a baby, but he was sure of it. She had looked in his direction for far too long to be mistaken. She could see him.</p>
<p>Him.</p>
<p>The spirit of the nation.</p>
<p>The silent watcher.</p>
<p>The invisible hope.</p>
<p>Him.</p>
<p>No one had been able to see him for thousands of years since he gave up everything to protect the empire when it was on the brink of destruction. No one had seen him since he had essentially become a living ghost - undying but unable to walk among the living. He had taken the lives of countless evil men, fought hundreds of wars to protect the lives of the innocent citizens, spirited children to safety and left them in the care of kind strangers who would care for them when their own parents tortured and beat them. He had done so much for so many, and he was tired. He had lived for too long, and he felt thin and stretched, yet he could not pass on.</p>
<p>And then she was born.</p>
<p>He had given up on ever being able to interact with people again, and yet she could see him. And as she grew older, he realized she could hear him and even touch him.</p>
<p>She was kind, caring. She gave to everyone around her, even when what she received in return was hatred. She reminded him so much of the woman he had loved in his youth who had died in the senseless fighting so long ago.</p>
<p>At first it was perhaps identifying her with the woman he used to love. He was fond of her, wanted to protect her. Then his affection grew until one day, not long after she had fully matured into an adult, he realized he was no longer looking at her and comparing her to ‘the woman he used to know.’ He loved her for herself.</p>
<p>And he was afraid. What if he lost her too?</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>What would he do when he lost her?</p>
<p>It was inevitable, was it not? He was - this. Well, besides that, he thought there was no way she loved him in return. She perhaps thought of him as a guardian spirit, perhaps a good friend. There was no way she loved him as he loved her. And he would not ask her to. What sort of life could he give her anyway? She deserved so much more. She deserved the world.</p>
<p>And yet, he could not stay away.</p>
<p>Every day he would spend time with her. Every day he would watch over her. At length, he knew that there was nothing for it. He could never truly ask her to marry him, but he would still swear his vows to her. She was his everything.</p>
<p>And so one night when he knew she was asleep, he came into her room and knelt beside her bed. “I vow to love you and honor you all the days of my life - however long it is. I vow to cherish you and protect you, to devote my whole self to you. Wherever you go and whatever you do, I will be there for you. I am yours.” He wanted to add ‘and you are mine,’ but he could not. He would not bind her to him, though he bound himself to her freely. If she ever fell in love, though it would hurt him, he would support her.</p>
<p>He sighed and rose to his feet.</p>
<p>As he was about to leave, a hand reached out and grabbed hold of him.</p>
<p>“Me too.” She said, in a soft voice. “All those things you said. I vow all those things to you too.”</p>
<p>“I” He turned to face the beautiful young woman before him and placed one slightly translucent hand on her cheek. “I cannot ask that of you.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to ask.” She smiled. “I am offering.”</p>
<p>She rose from the bed and kissed him gently on the lips.</p>
<p>“I am yours.” She spoke directly into his ear. “And you are mine.”</p>
<p>And by this vow, they were wed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>L: “By the way, I did not intend what either of you did with this story. Though I did kind of have the Romeo-Juliet vibe going.”<br/>C: “Then I intended reincarnation.”<br/>S: *self-satisfied shrug*</p>
<p>C: “That was originally one hundred.”<br/>L: “I take it that’s why it was ‘of the century’?”<br/>C: “No, I wanted it to be more than one generation.”<br/>L: “Well, one billion is more than one generation.”</p>
<p>S: of Mr. Plumb “He’s so twitterpated.”<br/>C: “Right?”</p>
<p>C: “Now I feel better about rhyming ‘in’ with ‘inn’”<br/>S: “Wait for it.”<br/>*general laughter*</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. 24 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>New dimensions for Stephanie and Frian, a frustrated Peppa, and that's all for day 24.</p>
<p>Day 24 total: 262 words<br/>24-day total: 30,186 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No notes while writing today. See endnotes for reading comments!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Iref followed what Ferinei told him and began to create his family. He married well and created an alliance with a clan named Delsan. As stipulated in the marriage contract, Iref was to take the family name. </p>
<p>Iref and the rest of the Delsan clan moved to his former home near the Greich family. Iref and the Delsans began their assault on the Greich family.</p>
<p>Shinan told her son that the Child of Famine was back. Nash informed the rest of the family and the feud truly began. </p>
<p>The other gods and goddesses were unhappy with this feud being spread to the humans. Shinan and Ferinei were reprimanded and ordered to stay away from their children. Shinan and Ferinei were infuriated and confined by the others in their pantheon’s meddling. </p>
<p>Many years later, Shinan and Ferinei were told that their quarreling would end in a marriage. Both deities scoffed and cited all of the instances of vengeance between the families. Piyeen, the Goddess of Love, promised the two warring deities that she would have her way and the humans would stop fighting. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>After Peppa screamed loud enough for people in the next county to hear her, she sat on the bench and thought. She sorted through all the water places in the school-there were none. Then she mentally moved for all the water places in town. After she eliminated each one, she remembered the dry creek bed that always had water in it in the spring. </p>
<p>“Where’s the biggest swell of water on the creek? I’ve got to get the vows back!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>C: “Enter the love god! Love stops wars!”<br/>S: “Yes, yes it does. It also starts wars too. But, you know, I’m going for the stopping.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. 25 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A character that things keep getting worse and worse and worse...<br/>October characters! (At this point only C was writing them...she got tired of us not helping her with them.)<br/>A couple that were shipped together during a DnD campaign! (That I, S, was not present for.)<br/>Peppa!</p>
<p>Day 25 total: 4,188 words<br/>25-day total: 34,374 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We were not very chatty with each other on Thanksgiving (in the U.S.). But we wrote :-)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To say that she was frightened would be an understatement. She was truly, wholly, completely, irrevocably, undeniably, excessively, horrendously, exceedingly terrified. </p>
<p>At present, Laurena was sitting on top of a very tall, very narrow, very unstable precipice which she had climbed up despite her immense fear of heights in order to retrieve her vows from the cruel bird that flew up and nested here.</p>
<p>Of course, Laurena had tried all kinds of methods to get the bird to come down first. This included but was not limited to making loud noises, throwing her favorite ball (not that she was able to throw it hard enough to reach the top), and attempting to imitate a mating call for a bird of that species. All of her attempts had failed to make the bird move a single feather, however, and after waiting for nearly five hours, Laurena started to wonder if the bird was ever going to move again or if it was determined to remain there until either it died or she did.</p>
<p>It had taken all the courage she could muster to begin climbing the steep spire. It had plenty of handholds, thankfully, but not all of them were stable, and between her fear of heights and her uncertainty if the spire could even support her weight, Laurena was amazed that she hadn’t passed out. </p>
<p>Once she reached the top, Laurena had been more than a little peeved when the bird flew away off into the sunset - a very pretty one which she might have enjoyed on a different occasion - with her vows clutched tightly in its talons. Perhaps she was cursed. </p>
<p>The top of the spire was particularly small. There was only enough room for one small person to sit, and Laurena found herself happy for once that she was small. It’s not like she normally wanted to be big or anything, but being able to see over a podium when giving a presentation without having to search for something to stand on would be nice.</p>
<p>At any rate, while she had somehow convinced herself to climb up, going back down did not seem terribly appealing, especially now that she could see just how far up she actually was. She regretted chasing the bird. So what if it had taken her days just to settle on the first line of her vows, and so what if it had taken her a whole month and a half just to finish them? She could write them again. The wedding was still two- er one and a half days away.</p>
<p>Okay, so maybe the height wasn’t the only thing freaking her out right now.</p>
<p>It didn’t help that she had arranged to spend the rest of the day and tomorrow alone (she had wanted to observe the tradition of not seeing the bride/groom before the wedding) and her family, friends, and fiancé knew that she was going to be in an area with little to no cell reception. And while she did have some cell reception here, her phone had been low on battery and fell out of her pocket as she was climbing up. Considering the crashing sound, she doubted it survived the fall, though even if it had, it would do her little good while she was stuck up here and it down there.</p>
<p>Oh, and she had left her coat on the ground too. Didn’t want it to get in the way while she was climbing. She regretted that now. It was getting colder and she was stranded on top of a spire in the middle of nowhere where no one was likely to come by anytime soon. And no one would be worried about her until the morning of the wedding when she was supposed to meet her mother, sister, and best friend to prepare. When they did start to worry, they also wouldn’t know where to look since she had randomly decided to drive out to the nature reserve about an hour from the spot she was staying since she had the whole day to herself and finished the book she packed already. </p>
<p>In retrospect, if she had brought more books, none of this would have happened. *Note to self: pack an entire suitcase of books next time I go on a trip alone.* </p>
<p>As time passed, Laurena tried rubbing her shoulders to keep herself warm, and she tried mentally writing new vows to distract herself from how high up she was, but her thoughts kept circling back, and every time they did, she felt the panic bite a bit deeper. She had already hyperventilated a few times, and thinking about what would happen if that made her pass out only made it worse.</p>
<p>When she started feeling her eyes get heavy, Laurena was reminded of the fact that she had pulled an all-nighter the night before, and the prospect of passing out from sleep deprivation while perched precariously high up in the air made her vow to never stay up all night again. She suspected that might be a vow she would break eventually, but probably not anytime soon. Well, after tonight anyway. Hopefully.</p>
<p>Long before the sun came up, Laurena had started muttering prayers - some that she learned when she was young, and some that she was making up on the spot. She hoped that they would not only serve as prayers but also help keep her awake.</p>
<p>The sunrise was pretty, but hard to focus on. Her head was pounding - partly from not sleeping for so long and partly because of a migraine, which she supposed was probably related to the stress of her current situation and the lack of sleep as well as whatever else made her have migraines anyway. She was also thirsty and had started trying to remember how long a person could live without water. </p>
<p>Between the headache, the panic attacks, the lack of sleep, and a lack of food, her thoughts were getting muddled. And that was making her panic more, especially when she realized she was starting to doze off seconds at a time. Thankfully, she had so far snapped back awake before tumbling off her perch, but she really hoped someone would find her soon.</p>
<p>Sometime later - though how long she couldn’t tell - new sounds reached her ears, and after a few minutes she registered that it sounded like a motor. That was weird. There weren’t supposed to be vehicles here. All the same, there one was driving toward her perch. It might’ve been a ranger’s car. </p>
<p>With the mystery solved, she tucked back into the ball she curled into earlier as she once again attempted to block out the world. Safer that way. Fewer things to be afraid of.</p>
<p>There was a lot of noise coming from down below, and a little while later, she heard what sounded like a helicopter. As she looked up, she saw what she guessed was some sort of rescue personnel hanging from a bright orange chopper. Even though she knew they were there to help, she felt panic rising up as she realised she was going to go even higher and be secured only by someone else holding her. She felt her breaths get faster and heavier, and could barely make out the words being shouted at her.</p>
<p>She must have passed out when she was being plucked off her perch because the next thing she remembered was lying on the ground with her legs propped up. </p>
<p>“Oh, thank God, Laurena.” Kyle’s face came into view above her, and she realized he was holding her hand. “I was so worried when I saw you up there.”</p>
<p>After Laurena had gotten some rest, she explained what happened to Kyle, and he in turn explained that when Laurena’s mother had gotten worried last night when she realized she had accidentally booked a room on the twentieth floor of the hotel for Laurena to stay in. After going to check that Laurena was alright and finding her room empty even though it was after dark. When Laurena didn’t answer her phone or come back to the room for a couple hours, she had panicked and called Kyle, some of her family members, and some of her friends to help look for her. Kyle had used the “Find My Phone” app figuring it would show she was at a restaurant or something and he could assuage their worries, but when it showed the last known location in the nature reserve, he had been worried and contacted the rangers. It had taken some time to find where she was because the last place the phone had a signal was not where she ended up.</p>
<p>Despite having lost the vows she had worked so hard on, Laurena had a pretty good idea what to say during the wedding.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It was half past noon when Samantha and the two professors woke up and had brunch with the grumpy old man before leaving for town. It was a basic breakfast of ham and eggs, but it tasted divine to Samantha - particularly because she was well-dressed and had slept well and had actually had food last night in spite of the fact that they were currently in an alternate dimension and their last trip to this dimension had been rife with anything but good food, adequate clothing, and comfortable beds.</p>
<p>Yes, the clothes she was wearing now were a little out of style, considering they were a farmer’s clothes tailored to fit her shorter height and curved shape, but they were still a far cry better than her now ruined bridesmaid’s dress.</p>
<p>“Thank you again for letting us stay here.” Professor Dlaun thanked the grump who just grunted in response.</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, best get going then.” The man grumbled. “Ya‘ve got a long walk ahead.”</p>
<p>Samantha wanted to tell the old coot to try smiling once in a while, but she held her tongue. She had already seen the supplies the man had helped Professor Xoi gather the night before and knew, from experience, how much it was costing him to provision them. He probably gave them an entire month’s wages worth of stuff, and he wasn’t asking for anything in return.</p>
<p>She could put up with a bit of grouchiness.</p>
<p>After saying their farewells, the trio of interdimensional travelers set off on the seven or so hour walk that it would take them to reach the nearest town. They stayed to the road since their pursuers had not, unlike what the old man assumed from Professor Dlaun’s truncated half-true version of events, followed them into the forest - those annoying people in lab coats were all back in Hawaii probably very angry that the three travelers had disappeared in front of them for the second time. </p>
<p>Thankfully, the only direct threat in New Zealand so far was dying of hunger which was unlikely now that they had supplies from the old man. Even without money, they could live off the land for quite a while with Samantha’s know-how and the three knapsacks full of gear.</p>
<p>“I feel a little bad for tricking him.” Professor Dlaun stated as they walked.</p>
<p>Professor Xoi nodded. “Me too, but we needed the supplies either way, especially since we don’t know if we’ll end up teleporting again.” He paused.”Though that seems unlikely for the time being.”</p>
<p>Samantha shuddered as she realized what Professor Xoi meant. Since that Hope thing split herself up into three parts and dived back into their chests, she hadn’t made her presence known again. Samantha was still creeped out about knowing that part of some ethereal being had been *inside* of her for so long without her knowing.</p>
<p>Scratch that. It was still creepy even now that she *knew* it was there. It was even creepier than when that weird mark was on Professor Dlaun’s forehead and started glowing every other minute and shooting black tendrils all over the place. At least that wasn’t a living being with consciousness.</p>
<p>She paused.</p>
<p>They didn’t really know what that was. It was technically possible…</p>
<p>Nope. Samantha stopped herself from thinking about that any more. She was so not going there.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>‘You fight good.’</p>
<p>Alu’vien sighed. It was one of the first things Vales had said to her when they were both still figuring out that they liked each other. And, perhaps for that reason, it was near and dear to her heart. Her own reply at the time was just embarrassing though. She had blushed and replied “you too.”</p>
<p>It was not very clever.</p>
<p>But then, she had since been told by everyone she knew that she was the single most dense person on the face of the earth followed very, very closely by her betrothed, Vales. So, perhaps it was expected that their flirting had been so awkward.</p>
<p>The problem was that she couldn’t think of anything better for her wedding vows.</p>
<p>She had considered something about how he was her light, but that felt a little bit like cheating since it came straight out of her oath as a Paladin. </p>
<p>She sighed.</p>
<p>She had asked her most trusted people for advice, but their advice had been rather unhelpful.</p>
<p>Fable had said “write from your heart.” Alu’vien was never very good at that.</p>
<p>Ramändel had said something similar and yet contradictory… that was fairly typical.</p>
<p>Thelion was too drunk to get an answer from.</p>
<p>Celaena told her to say something about how honored he should feel that he, a captain of the guard, was marrying her, the Lady of the Elves. (Well, at least she finally approved of the marriage.)</p>
<p>Coivië stared at her blankly, laughed, and said, “you really don’t want me to help you. Besides, you know why you love him better than I do.” Then she paused for a moment with the most thoughtful look on her face that Alu’vien had ever seen and added, “then again, I’ll help you.” Unfortunately, at that moment, Magi came and pulled her away for Queen lessons.</p>
<p>She didn’t even bother asking Nala.</p>
<p>It had been a long day, and Alu’vien was no closer to writing her vows than before. There were a few other people she could turn to for advice, but it seemed like a lost cause. She was just going to have to do it herself.</p>
<p>She sighed and went to ask Taliesin to tell her a story to take her mind off things. When she found the Elven scholar, he was, as usual, nose deep in a book. She hadn’t thought he even noticed her come into the library until he looked up, for once in his life, and greeted her.</p>
<p>“Ah, Lady Alu’vien, what brings you to the library?”</p>
<p>“I’ve told you a thousand times to just call me Alu’vien.” She answered. “You are several millennia older than I am.”</p>
<p>Taliesin chuckled lightly - something he rarely did around anyone since he was usually too focused on his books. “And I have told you that the Lady of the Elves is the Lady of the Elves no matter how young she is.”</p>
<p>Alu’vien smiled. “Still, you are someone I look to for counsel, and you are something of a grandfather to me. It is strange to be called ‘Lady’ by you.”</p>
<p>“Very well.” Taliesin responded the same way he had every other time they had this conversation. “You never answered my question.”</p>
<p>Alu’vien flinched. He never did let questions go unanswered - even when he knew she was trying to avoid the topic. No, perhaps especially when he knew she was avoiding the topic. It had probably just been curiosity at first - that was usually what motivated Taliesin - but now he often asked her questions about things others seemed not to notice were bothering her. Perhaps that was why she kept coming back to talk to him. Or perhaps it was because he never really tried to give her advice, unlike Ramändel and Fable who were like parents to her. She loved them, but they were better at giving advice after listening to her problems than just listening and letting her figure it out. And since they often gave conflicting advice, she ended up more confused than before they had said anything most of the time.</p>
<p>“I am avoiding my duties.” Alu’vien spoke at length.</p>
<p>Taliesin raised an eyebrow. “Oh, this is quite rare. Which duties are you avoiding?”</p>
<p>Alu’vien shuffled her feet a moment before muttering under her breath. “Writing my wedding vows.”</p>
<p>Of course, even if she had meant for Taliesin not to hear her reply, his keen Elven ears picked up her words.</p>
<p>He chuckled again. “You call those duties?”</p>
<p>“Well, not really.” Alu’vien replied. “Though they are something I must finish.” She sighed. “However, I am utterly stuck.”</p>
<p>“You, the Great Orator of your generation?” Taliesin questioned. He had been calling her that for some time now due to the number of ‘epic works of spoken motivation’ - as he termed them - she had composed and delivered ever since she had become the face of the Mellyn Enin Mallas Calemir during their rebellion against the evil Lord Falinbör.</p>
<p>“Yet another title I wish you would stop using.” Alu’vien placed a hand to her forehead. “And yes, me. Vows and motivational speeches are different.”</p>
<p>Taliesin nodded. “Yes, though they share some basic elements. Each is about something you are passionate about, and your goal in both is to sway the hearts of your audience. You also address the audience directly and your orations in particular tend to be relevant to the culture of the people you are addressing and contain some message about how you will stand beside them. You also tend to give purpose to action in your orations and, similarly, marriage vows tend to give meaning to the act of marriage itself.”</p>
<p>Alu’vien hadn’t thought of it that way before. “That is actually quite helpful.”</p>
<p>Taliesin nodded lightly, indicating he had understood her gratitude.</p>
<p>“Still, I think a little time away might get me past ‘you fight good.’” She sighed.</p>
<p>Taliesin chuckled again. “Maybe so.”</p>
<p>She wasn’t sure why, but there was a hint of ‘are you sure you need to?’ seeping through Taliesin’s last words.</p>
<p>“Would you tell me a story?” She asked, both because she wanted to change the subject and because she remembered her original purpose in coming to find him.</p>
<p>“Certainly.” Taliesin replied, signaling for her to take a seat in their usual story spot. “Hmm.” He thought for a moment. “Today I will tell you of Gwedui - the last bond.”<br/>
***</p>
<p>Peppa figured out where the creek swells the most in the spring. It swells in the man-made lake by the golf course. ‘It is a romantic spot… And if she remembers correctly that is where Whims took Paige on their first date! Didn’t Whims mention it in his vows?’</p>
<p>Peppa stopped her train of thought with a light smack of her palm to her forehead. “That boy is going to get me into trouble!” She muttered. </p>
<p>Peppa had a possible idea for how to get to the golf course lake, but had no idea how she would explain her need of a ride to the lake to anyone who could drive her there. Public transportation did not exist in this town, so calling for a ride or walking were her best bets. And Peppa was tired of walking. </p>
<p>Peppa quickly dialed Whims’ number. She figured he would be the one member that wouldn’t make her play twenty questions about going to the lake. Peppa knew she was only delaying the inevitable interrogation via her sister and mother, but she’ll take any reprieve she can get. </p>
<p>Whims picked up on the third ring. </p>
<p>“Hello?” He answered. </p>
<p>“Whims? It’s Peppa-”</p>
<p>“Peppa! My future little sis! How’s it hanging?”</p>
<p>“It’s going...okay.”</p>
<p>“Just okay?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. It would get better with you picking me up and taking me somewhere I need to go,” she paused and quickly finished. “I can’t walk there and get home in time for curfew. Will you please help me Whims? You’re my only hope!”</p>
<p>Peppa desperately threw out that last line in hopes that the nerdy Whims would be swayed to helping her. </p>
<p>His voice turned serious. “Peppa, I will pick you up in ten minutes. Are you still at school?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” she replied softly. She was awed at how serious Whims turned. She had never seen this side of him before. </p>
<p>“I’ll meet you at the flagpole.” He hung up with a click.<br/>
Peppa stood up slowly from the bench. She was stunned by Whims’s behavior. Then she began to run back to the front of the school. It took her fifteen minutes to walk to the baseball diamond earlier. She wasn’t sure if running would get her back in ten.</p>
<p>She reached the flagpole out of breath and somehow before she saw Whims’s car. His car wasn’t very distinguishable; many people in town owned a white four-door sedan, except that it was twilight and there was maybe one car left from the school day in the parking lot. </p>
<p>She saw headlights approaching where the flagpole was helping to support her out-of-breath self. The car screeched to a stop directly in front of her.</p>
<p>The window rolled down. Whims called out to her, “Your chariot awaits, Peppa! Get in and buckle up.”</p>
<p>Peppa tossed her backpack into the backseat and buckled her seatbelt in the front passenger seat. </p>
<p>“Where do we need to go?”</p>
<p>“The golf course lake,” Peppa replied lowly.</p>
<p>Whims eyed her suspiciously. “Why-never mind. Not my business. I don’t want to invite conflict between Paige and I right now.”</p>
<p>“Thank you Whims. I really appreciate this.” </p>
<p>Peppa stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. When Whims reached the golf course parking lot, he didn’t stop to let her out, he parked. </p>
<p>“What are you doing?” she asked. </p>
<p>“I’m parking the car because you are a nice girl, Peppa. You think the best of everybody and I will not let you meet someone here without meeting them first.” Whims sounded like her dad. It was both odd and reassuring.</p>
<p>Peppa considered his opinion and spoke, “I don’t think I’m meeting anyone here. I lost something the other day and am now in a scavenger hunt for clues to find it.” She sighed heavily. “I really hope I get it back today.”</p>
<p>“What did you lose Peppa?”</p>
<p>Peppa stared wide-eyed at Whims, making him chuckle. He put his hands up to indicate that he was backing off of questioning her. “I get it, no more questions.” He paused. “What was your clue?”</p>
<p>“It was about finding the next clue where the water swells. I logically concluded that the creek swells up and helps fill the lake every year.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure the clue meant the lake? We do live really close to the ocean, you know,” he asked her, making her spell out the exact reasons why the golf course lake made more sense than the ocean.</p>
<p>“I concede! Let’s walk over to the lake bridge and see if your next clue is hiding there.”</p>
<p>They calmly walked to the lake. Peppa looked and acted calm, but she was not calm. Her hands began to shake slightly and she knew her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. She prayed, both wishing for the vows to be there and for there to be another clue. She liked matching wits with this boy.</p>
<p>The bridge was gorgeous. Peppa never had a reason to visit this place before, but she now had a new favorite place to think. The bridge was an arched wooden bridge, painted white and the pathway was lit with small lights built into the bridge’s arching handholds. There was a willow nearby, gorgeous with blooming flowers and lights below its long green leaves. She mused that the boy was making her expand her environments; she wasn’t sure she liked it. </p>
<p>She insisted to Whims that she be the only one to search the bridge. There was nothing there. She searched all over the bridge a second and third time, each repetitive search making her shaking hands and beating heart worse. These searches also added the new symptom of babbling frantically at Whims.</p>
<p>Whims came onto the bridge. He anchored her to one spot on the bridge with his hands on her shoulders. “Peppa, what exactly are you looking for?”</p>
<p>“A note. I’m looking for a note. It-it’s folded an-and pretty-” she hiccupped through the tears now streaming down her cheeks. </p>
<p>“Breathe Peppa!” Whims shouted with a little shake to her.</p>
<p>Peppa breathed deeply. </p>
<p>“Better?”</p>
<p>Peppa nodded her head. </p>
<p>“Now, tell me again, slower, okay?” </p>
<p>“Okay,” she replied, barely audible to him. “The note should be folded in a fancy fold. The fold is really easy to undo, but I don’t know how to fold it that way. I left the other notes in my backpack. I was so set on getting the notes-”</p>
<p>“Peppa, you didn’t know.” He looked at her searchingly. “Do you mind if <em>I</em> look for you right now?”</p>
<p>She shook her head no.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>L: “After that statement, I lost all control.”<br/>S: “Oh, God.”<br/>L: “I wrote all of it, but I lost all control of it.”</p>
<p>C: “You like fears of heights *to L*”<br/>L: “It was convenient.”</p>
<p>S: “L, you are a cruel, cruel woman.”<br/>L: “I agree.”</p>
<p>L: “By the time I had her trapped on a spire without her vows and with a fear of heights, I started trying to think of all the ways I could make it worse because I couldn’t figure out how to make it better.”<br/>C: “He shows up and miraculously saves her.”<br/>L: “That’s only at the end!”<br/>S: “What is it with us and doing Deux Ex Machinas?”<br/>C: “Because us, obviously.”</p>
<p>C: *reading about migraines* “which you (L) probably had while writing it.”<br/>L: “Probably.”</p>
<p>L: “He’s definitely an NPC.”</p>
<p>C: “Taliesin became her confidant because I wanted him to get to tell a boring story that was only liminally related.”<br/>S: “Nice.”<br/>L: “Coivie probably would have become her confidant, but then Magi showed up.”</p>
<p>S: “By the way, I had a <em>Star Wars</em> moment there.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. 26 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A Cinderella tale, a tale within a tale, more on Peppa's tale, and the tale of how Stephanie and Frian met.</p>
<p>Day 26 total: 4,160 words<br/>26-day total: 38,534 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>"Originally I wasn't going to give them names so I didn't have to worry about trying to make sure I didn't black them. Then I gave him a name in line three. Oh, yeah, and a really long name plus title after that."</p>
<p>"The vows are in there. The whole theme is promises and vows. Just because the actual wedding vows are only sort of hinted at almost as a side tangent... I mean this is technically the side story to one of the other stories anyway... And I may have gotten distracted from my main point and then forgotten the plan... oh well."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was funny, really, or at least most people would probably think so. She had been childhood friends with him, and they met frequently even as they grew older, but she was the only one who knew who he really was. Although he went by Eren when they spent time together and dressed like any other ordinary village boy from Elesium, he was in truth Prince Rianelor Erenevel Lunifever Eldensi Lu Vastian, the first prince of Vastian, fourth child of the Lu Vastian royal family, and also fourth in line to the throne. Of course, most people counted him as third in line as the crown princess had, on more than one occasion, made it clear she intended to abdicate the throne in favor of her younger siblings.</p>
<p>At any rate, Eren seemed to think his disguise was foolproof, and for the most part it was as the townsfolk never noticed as the young prince used magic to change his hair and eye color and wore not the robes nor fine clothing of nobility but the common clothing of the village folk. In his favor was the fact that Elesium was a smaller, out-of-the-way village a little ways away from the capital and secluded by a small forest. Eren likely teleported to the outskirts rather than drawing attention by riding a horse or hiring a carriage. The Elesium village folk were friendly and largely ignorant of the happenings in the rest of Vastian, so they would have welcomed him with open arms without questioning where he came from. The same was true for her.</p>
<p>If she had actually been a resident of Elesium like she had told Eren, she probably wouldn’t have been the wiser about who he was until he had told her a month or so ago. However, she was not actually Valcrisi, village girl from Elesium, like she had told him. She was officially Trialla Ravalen Crisali Lu Frinsil, last born of Baron Lu Frinsil. She was rarely seen in public, which the Baron and his wife claimed was because she was their precious only daughter and was born frail; however, she was in truth the Baron’s bastard child born from a maid who passed away in childbirth. She had no family to take Trialla in, and the Baron had no desire to tarnish his reputation with the outside world, so he had claimed her as a legitimate child. His wife, also not wishing the affair to be known, agreed to say Trialla was her daughter. They said her pregnancy had been kept secret because it had several early complications, and everyone willingly accepted the ruse.</p>
<p>Rather than being frail, Trialla was quite strong, but the Baron’s worry that their plot would be discovered and the Baroness’s jealousy and anger over the affair led to Trialla being treated as a servant of the household. Her four older brothers were taught to treat her as a servant and a pest, and the servants were taught to look the other way if any of the Lu Frinsil family was cross with her. She was taught only the etiquette and skills a lady would need for small public displays, but she was never allowed to dine with her family, and she was never officially trained to use her magic. If she did not complete her assigned work, she did not get dinner unless one of the servants took pity on her and snuck some bread into her small room in the attic.</p>
<p>It had also been one of the servants who taught her how to disguise her hair and eye color with magic and how to teleport to Elesium. It was rare for a servant to know such magic, but he had learned by observing her eldest brother’s magic lessons. He had also convinced the Baron to give Trialla a rest day once a week. These were the times she went to Elesium. At first, the servant would go with her to make sure she was all right and returned home before she could be missed, but it was difficult for him to disappear regularly and since he deemed Elesium safe, she began going on her own.</p>
<p>It had been when Trialla and the prince were around six years of age that they met in Elesium for the first time. Even then, Trialla knew better than to give her real name to a stranger - it would not end well if word reached the Baron’s ears. At the time, she didn’t realize who the prince was as she had only heard about him and seen him once in passing; however, about half a year later, she attended the prince’s seventh birthday party and between the date corresponding with the date of Eren’s birthday and the little prince muttering off in the corner where she accidentally overheard him about wishing he could have brought Valcrisi to the party, she realised who he was.</p>
<p>Probably because the Baron and Baroness made sure she never had any close interactions with any of the noble children, the prince never found out who she was, and she was too worried about them finding out to tell him. Besides that, him being a prince didn’t really matter to her. He was her one and only true friend. He even comforted her when the servant who had helped her so much passed away. Of course she had just told Eren it was someone important to her. </p>
<p>While he never referred to them as royalty, Eren had told her many stories about his family, and she sometimes laughed to herself at public events when she noticed something he had told her about like the slight tremor of the king’s hand when giving a speech (he was terribly nervous, she found out, about public speaking), or the way the crown princess’s eyes lit up when she spotted a particular young knight who she had a crush on. </p>
<p>Trialla found herself looking forward to meeting with Eren more and more over the years, and somehow their time together made everything else bearable. She had been honored, elated, and terrified when Eren had admitted to her who he was, apologized for hiding it, and asked for her hand in marriage. When she had started crying and calling herself unworthy, he had hugged her tight, told her just how worthy she was, and even offered to give up his title as prince if it would make her more comfortable. She had, of course, told him not to do that. She also told him she couldn’t marry him. When he asked why, tears dripping from his eyes as he wiped the tears dripping from her own, all she could say was she was sorry.</p>
<p>How could she marry him when she couldn’t even tell him who she really was? </p>
<p>She had expected him to stop coming, but when she got to their meeting spot, he was there, same as always, but with his blond hair and striking blue eyes showing instead of the brown hair and green eyes he normally used as a disguise. He told her he would wait for her. He vowed to always be there for her, and even if she never returned his love, he would love her. Under the stars, he vowed to be true to her and to hold her happiness first in his heart. </p>
<p>She wanted with all her being to return those vows, to vow that she would love him for eternity, to vow that she would be his. But she couldn’t. Not while she was still Trialla. Not while the Baron and Baroness still held power over her. </p>
<p>Still, she couldn’t leave him either. She continued going to Elesium. She continued meeting him as Valcrisi while hiding from the world as Trialla.</p>
<p>Eren never pushed her. He talked with her about his family, about his hobbies, about their past. He played the silly games with her they still played despite being old enough for the kingdom to call them adults. Today, like every year on her birthday, he made sure to be here (despite the fact there was an important political event he should have been attending), and he brought her a small gift. Because she was afraid of the Baron and Baroness finding them, she had found a hiding place here in Elesium for these gifts. On days she was here and he wasn’t, she would spend her time at the hiding spot, looking through them and remembering. </p>
<p>This year, she had been surprised when Eren told her he wanted her to meet a few people. When she, in pure curiosity, agreed, he told her to wait in the glade they first met while he went to get them. A few minutes later, the glade was filled with the most distinguished guests Elesium had ever had as the entire royal family - including the knight who the crown princess married two years ago - wished her a happy birthday.</p>
<p>Trialla wondered what the Baron and Baroness were thinking at the moment as they and their sons were attending a gathering at the palace where the royal family was absent.</p>
<p>When the king asked where she had learned magic, Trialla’s eyes went wide and she felt herself start to panic, but the panic calmed as he chuckled lightly. It was not, he explained, an accusation. He could feel the same magic on her that his son used when sneaking out of the palace and since Elesium wasn’t known for magic users, he was just curious. </p>
<p>When not even Eren looked the least bit surprised by the king noting her use of disguise magic, she remembered hearing that the royal family had a special ability to sense when magic was present and realized Eren knew she had been hiding her true appearance all the time they knew each other. He knew she had her secrets, but never pushed her to spill them, and he even asked her to marry him despite those secrets.</p>
<p>Somehow that made her heart swell in joy and pain. She found herself engulfed in Eren’s reassuring hug while the queen yelled at her husband for making the birthday girl cry. </p>
<p>Trialla felt herself dropping the magic before she consciously decided she was going to. It was time. No. It was long past time. </p>
<p>Eren was still hugging her, and she felt him start to draw back, whispering the name he knew her by in his surprised voice. She held tighter, her courage not quite enough to let him see her yet, but a gentle murmur of “It’s okay” was enough for her to let go.</p>
<p>It took awhile for Trialla to tell her story, and even then it was in bits and pieces. Lots of stops and starts and hesitating as she worried about the repercussions and about whether they would believe her. However, she needn’t have worried. </p>
<p>About three months later, Trialla Ravalen Crisali Lu Valcrisi, first born of Valcrisi, and the young Baroness in charge of the land once belonging to the Lu Frinsi family, walked down the aisle to marry Prince Rianelor Erenevel Lunifever Eldensi Lu Vastian, the first prince of Vastian, and fourth child of the Lu Vastian royal family. When Eren gave his vows, she felt every much as loved as when he first vowed to love her under the stars, and this time, she finally spoke the vows that wanted so badly to spill from her lips then.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Many people believe, mistakenly, that the last bond is the bond which was formed last. But this is not so. The last bond is the bond which endures the longest.</p>
<p> There is an old Elven phrase which makes this explicitly clear if you look at the etymology of the word: Gwedui. Gwedui which is usually translated as “last bond” is a compound word derived from ‘gwedh’ which means ‘bond’ and ‘ui’ which means ‘everlasting.’ Thus, ‘gwedui’ may be more literally translated as ‘bond everlasting.’ </p>
<p>Perhaps this is why the legend of Gwedui is one that has been told and retold by Elves ever since the Ancient Days. A true everlasting bond, something that sounds both frightening and romantic - in both senses of the word. </p>
<p>The greatest example of Gwedui is of course in the covenant with Iluvalla, the Old God of the Elves who now slumbers until the End of Days when he will awaken and fulfill his promise with his people to bring them all into Uigladro - the Eternal Home. This bond which will never break is the greatest and longest lasting as well as in remaking by virtue of the one who sealed it.</p>
<p>Among those who are not divine, however, and even among the lesser deities who came after Illuvala, such a perfect covenant is often sought but not achieved. We see this even in the most virtuous line of the Mallas Calemir who have been the Light for all ever since they led the final battle against the darkness in Hrundor so long ago. Though the failings of the line of the Mallas Calemir are few, they have on occasion broken their vows.</p>
<p>However, there is a legend of one whose bond proved just as perfect as that sealed by Illuvala, and this is the legend of Gwedui.</p>
<p>Long ago, even before the Darkness came, there was Eglador - Elvenhome - deep within the heart of Eryn Carn Doron, the Forest of Red Oak. In those days, Amán - which has no proper translation in the common tongue but could be described as ‘like magic’ - still ran deep in the veins of the Elves, and it granted them many gifts and talents which are all but lost now.</p>
<p>One of these gifts was that of the Gwedh - the Bond. It was a covenant of sorts between two people, sealed through the power of Amán. The Gwedh grants many boons of its own, among which few are remembered, but the deep connection of souls which have touched each other is still recalled. It meant many things, including being always able to find one another, feeling the hurt of the other, being able to give of oneself to heal the other, and - though the truth of this is debated still - the ability to communicate in the mind at will and no matter the distance between. </p>
<p>Thus, the Gwedh was often used in three rites: the rite of marriage, the rite of loyalty, and the rite of protection.</p>
<p>The intent in each of these rites was that the Gwedh would be permanent and perfect, but this was also not a requirement. There were many exceptions and even times in which the Gwedh was withdrawn - or perhaps overwritten is a better term as a soul never truly forgets the touch of another. When a Lord or Lady would be wounded on the battlefield, those who swore their oath of protection to them were not expected to give up their lives to save them. The bond of loyalty could be negated if the partners were feuding. And even in marriage, if one passed oversea or perished, or if it were discovered that one or both had not entered into the marriage for love - though this was rare in those days - the rite was considered sundered (or suspended until the End of Days if this was preferred by those involved).</p>
<p>The perfect, unending, unbreaking bond was desired by many, but not achieved.</p>
<p>Until she came.</p>
<p>Her true name is lost, but those who speak of her, ascribe to her the name Gwedui, for this is what she represents - the one everlasting bond not made by Illuvala himself.</p>
<p>Gwedui was said to be of the line of Mallas Calemir before that name was ascribed to them - as such it is theorized her true name began with an A as do the names of so many from that line, though this is neither here nor there. She was said also to be descended from the line of Gil Aen, one of the oldest and greatest lines of the Elves. Such lineage would, most certainly, explain why she is said to have been such an exceptional personage herself.</p>
<p>At any rate, Gwedui was said to have loved the son of her father’s friend. This friend, however, had promised his son to another, and the two who were to be wed were said to love each other very much by those around them. Gwedui, upon learning of this, is said to have gone to the one she loved and sworn the rite of protection to him, using the Gwedh in the rite. If she could not be with the one she had given her heart to, she would nevertheless give her life to protect him.</p>
<p>It is said she also went to the one who was promised to her love and swore the rite of loyalty with her, once again using the Gwedh. She would support the one who held the heart of her love and in so doing support her love.</p>
<p>It was around this time that Darkness first appeared and the Elves took up arms to fight against it. In the battle, the one promised to her love was mortally wounded, and Gwedui, sensing her injury, went to her to heal her. She also sent for her love, so that he would be there for the one he loved. Through a miracle, Gwedui was able to save the life of her love’s love, perhaps because she was both bound through the Gwedh and a healer herself, or perhaps because her love had given to her through the Gwedh between them the strength to continue healing the other.</p>
<p>In any case, the woman was saved, and then she and Gwedui’s love are said to have confided in Gwedui the truth, having been inspired by the true devotion Gwedui had shown them. They were not truly in love with one another. Rather, the woman had been threatened by someone whom the legends do not clearly define - some tales make him the earliest of the Dae Morn line, though this is likely untrue, others make him a demon, still others the Darkness himself come to tempt the Elves to break them from within. Whoever he was, though, his demand had been the same: to marry him whether the woman would or no. The only way out was through marriage to another, and Gwedi’s love had been nearby and sworn his love for her as a means to protect his childhood friend.</p>
<p>But they were not truly in love and so they postponed the marriage rite as long as possible. Now, in the war, it would be possible to find another excuse so long as they had help. Further, Gwedui’s love loved Gwedui and had wanted many times to tell her so. He had, in fact, been a little sad when Gwedui had sworn the rite of protection to him and not the rite of loyalty at least. Here on the battlefield, amid fighting which raged on around them, the woman made a bold suggestion. She told Gwedui and her love to hold the rite of marriage in a nearby cave - this was during a time where Old Laws were still the primary way to hold a marriage, and vows were simply held as a formality.</p>
<p>The act of joining with another was, after all, the closest two souls could come to one another (aside from the Gwedh). Words, however, hold power, and vows spoken between lovers were - and still are - seen as a covenant in their own right. A promise of the highest order.</p>
<p>Gwedui and her love did indeed hold their marriage rites, and it is said they swore vows to each other to be true and to love each other forever - Uiveleth, eternal love. The legend also holds that Gwedh swore, among other things, to “hold tightly to that which one must never forget.” No one knows exactly what these words mean, but this does not matter, for her love is said to have understood and to have loved her all the more for it.</p>
<p>Later, Gwedui’s love is said to have died on the battlefield too far from Gwedui for her to reach him. Nevertheless, she was true to him forever, and she kept her Gwedh with the woman who had once been promised to her love, though many assumed she had no more reason to do so.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Whims looked over the bridge. He looked in little hiding places that Peppa would have never found without him.</p>
<p>“How did you know that people hid things right there?” she asked, drawing Whims’ focus away from his search.</p>
<p>“My brother and Paige always left notes for me if I was running late or they had to leave unexpectedly.”</p>
<p>“What brother?”</p>
<p>Whims sighed in disbelief. I can’t believe - you know what I can.” He stood to his full height and told Peppa about his family’s secret. “You’re my little sister, right? You need to know that you have two older brothers that have your back, not just me.”</p>
<p>Whims told her that his parents disowned his twin because he was gay. “So he loves a guy, who cares? But they did,” he shook his head, disgusted by his parents’ behavior. “He is still going to be my best man and his boyfriend should be coming too.”</p>
<p>Peppa’s jaw dropped. She thought his parents were really open-minded. “How could they do that to their son?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, Peppa. I just don’t know.” His response clued her in that she had accidentally spoken aloud. </p>
<p>Whims resumed his search but came up empty. </p>
<p>“Maybe this isn’t where the waters swell, Peppa.”</p>
<p>****</p>
<p>Piyeen worked tirelessly behind Shinan’s and Ferinei’s backs to create a love connection between the Greich and Delsan families. It failed. And failed. And failed thirty more times in the span of ten millennia. Piyeen examined the reasons for the failures and discovered that it was too close to the original declaration for the feud. Too many outside the families knew about how the feud began for it to resolve so easily with a marriage. </p>
<p>Grishna thought to himself as he told this part of the story, ’There is no way that this feud will end easily with this marriage. It might reignite a new one soon by the looks of their faces.’</p>
<p>Piyeen decided to be patient. Every half-millennia or so, she would check in on the feuding families (she had to deal with Shinan and Ferinei more often in the Pantheon Council). She checked to see if they were closer to being able to stop fighting with each other yet. Admittedly, Piyeen, like many of her brethren, had very little patience. She attempted to bring about love matches between the families during every single check-in. And through her failures, she saw what match would be the most beneficial between the families. </p>
<p>It took until three years ago for Piyeen to finally succeed. Three years ago, Stephanie and Frian met. They had no idea of each other’s last name or why their parents had sent them off to boarding school so far from home. They met in their second year of secondary school in maths. Stephanie was rather gifted in maths; Frian could do maths, but it wasn’t his favorite subject. </p>
<p>Frian had gotten stuck on a certain concept and asked his teacher to help him with a tutor. The teacher suggested Stephanie. They began talking in their tutoring sessions and became friends. Then Stephanie found out Frian’s last name and began to yell at him. </p>
<p>She screamed that he was evil and wrong and despicable and so was his entire rotten family. Frian asked what was so wrong with his family.</p>
<p>“You’re a Delsan,” she spat, glaring heatedly at him.</p>
<p>“And your point is?”</p>
<p>“I’m a Greich.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” his dumbfounded look and mild cursing that followed her revelation put him off… for about five minutes. </p>
<p>“Stephanie,” he began, “have I ever acted like what your family believes a Delsan is like?”</p>
<p>Stephanie had to think hard on this. Her answer surprised her. “No, you haven’t.”</p>
<p>“And you haven’t ever acted like a Greich does either,” he paused. “Maybe this feud is getting out of hand?”</p>
<p>Stephanie nodded and then asked what acting like a Greich entails.</p>
<p>“Well, basically what your family told you about mine is the same that I was told about yours.”</p>
<p>She nodded and they got back to their tutoring session. </p>
<p>During the next year, they became closer and fell in love. After they graduated earlier this year, Frian asked Stephanie to marry him. She agreed, but they both swore to keep their love a secret until they were married. </p>
<p>In their vows, they swore to end the fighting between their families. </p>
<p>“How do I know this?” Grishna asked the spellbound crowd. “Because I married them. As a priest of Piyeen, I have been responsible for giving reports to my goddess about your stupid feud fuelled by deities.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>L: “And no, I didn’t hear it until she (S:) kept reading the city name.”<br/>C: “I was going to ask…”</p>
<p>S: “Cinderella?”<br/>C: “Kinda sounds like it.”<br/>S: “Yep, except it’s brothers instead of sisters.”<br/>C: “Yep.”</p>
<p>L: *self-satisfied grin* </p>
<p>C: “I love this royal family.”<br/>S: “Yeah.”<br/>L: “Thank you” *Self-satisfied grin*</p>
<p>S: “Yes, very nice. I’m really annoyed by the names though. Because of how long they are.”</p>
<p>C: “And I promise there will be points where you are confused about who is being referred to, because I was confused while I was writing.”<br/>After a complicated non-explanation from C: of what she meant, S: “Yeah, this is going to be confusing.”</p>
<p>C: “Oh yeah, and did I mention her name is actually not her name?”</p>
<p>C: “The rites are purposefully never fully defined because I wasn’t even sure when I was writing them what I wanted them to be.”</p>
<p>C: “I tear it to pieces later and tell them (readers) how odd this story is. I promise.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. 27 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This has nursery rhymes...be warned. I'm not telling all the other couples in it because I think there are at least 12. I don't feel like naming all of them (plus there are several without names).</p>
<p>Day 27 total: 6,384 words<br/>27-day total: 44,918 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments made while writing: "I swear I didn't mean for it to get all bitter sweet at the end." "Okay, so now I'm in a bittersweet mood." "I thought I got out of this mood with that one chunk, but then..."</p>
<p>"I got in a weird bittersweet mood. I blacked most of it, but I know what it says *sniffles*" "I feel guilty. I rhymed 'inn' with 'in.' At least they are two different words." "I hate that I did that. I also love that I did that. Ten points to anyone who figures out what 'that' is." "*facepalms* I rhymed 'ahead' with 'head.'" "I am probably far too proud of myself for this one."</p>
<p>"We are at 3,375 words today." "And you're still writing." " Yep. " "That's good because don't we need to hit 4000 words today?" " Yes. Actually we need to hit 4000 words the rest of the month. Well, really we only need to hit 3900 but a little cushion is good." "Don't we all think that it's going to be ten minutes to midnight and we'll still be writing." "Or we'll be writing on AD November 31st." " but that only works for this November. " c:Are you still writing about Peppa. S: no, I'm branching out. L: raises eyebrow s: *laughs c:I'm not sure whether to be more intrigued or frightened.</p>
<p>"I am unabashedly proud of that."</p>
<p>"Because I could, so I did."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, weddings aren’t a thing for your people?” Ger’anu gave an exasperated sigh at Kiru’s question. Normally she found her soon to be little brother’s curiosity adorable. Right now, however, she wasn’t sure how to feel about it.</p>
<p>“And who told you that, Kiru?” Ger’anu continued fiddling with the flower crown she was weaving for tomorrow.</p>
<p>“Grandpa.” Kiru handed her the white blossom just out of her reach. “He said elves don’t marry each other like we do.”</p>
<p>“‘We’ being humans, I suppose.” Josan got on her last nerve sometimes. He meant well, usually, but his explanations and off-hand comments often created misunderstandings. “That is partly true. Elven ceremonies of union are” she paused, searching for the right words “different than those of humans. While we typically do not term them ‘weddings,’ they are, much like the weddings you are used to, a promise and vow to be true to your partner.” </p>
<p>“So you have weddings, but you don’t call them that?” Kiru’s eyebrows had drawn together and he cocked his head in his quintessential look of confusion that never failed to draw a silent chuckle from Ger’anu.</p>
<p>“You could say that, Kiru.” she began her explanation as she also began the second layer of her flower crown. “However, most people - elves and humans alike - would disagree. The ceremonies themselves are very different. Human ceremonies require the couple who are being married, a witness - typically a ‘man of God’ as appropriate to the religion of your particular human community - and a vow between the couple and with God. It is through the ceremony that the couple is believed to join their souls and become husband and wife. This means that for humans, the ceremony itself is essential. Depending on the human society, there may also need to be consummation after the ceremony for the wedding to be fully recognized, though.”</p>
<p>“What’s consummation?” Ger-anu froze at Kiru’s question. Glancing at his face, it was hard to tell if he was honestly asking because he didn’t know or if he simply wanted to see her flustered as she tried to answer. She wasn’t quite certain if Kiru was old enough by human standards to have already been told such things. Being an elf who prior to meeting Koran had little contact with humans, she found it difficult at times to adjust to the difference in aging and culture. Kiru was still small like an elfling of no more than twenty or perhaps twenty-five years; however, humans would have already reached their peak height by that age and been considered adults as well.</p>
<p>“Perhaps you can ask Mama Kana later.” Kiru grumbled a little at her redirection, but seemed to accept it for now. “Would you like me to continue explaining how elven ceremonies differ?” Following a nod of confirmation, she resumed her work on the flower crown as well as the explanation. “Elves believe that the act which would be consummation for humans is when their souls join. Rather, we *feel* our souls join then. Because of this, the equivalent of a wedding ceremony is for us a ceremony of promise as opposed to one of union. While it is typically held before our joining of souls, it is not necessary to be considered wed.”</p>
<p>“If it isn’t necessary, then why do you have one?” Kiru helped as she began cleaning the leftovers from finishing the flower crown.</p>
<p>“Well,” She placed the crown on the table where she would retrieve it tomorrow morning. “there are a number of reasons. One is that elves can only join our souls with one partner our entire lives and losing that partner is devastating to us, so a ceremony of promise is used to declare our intent to remain true to each other. Besides that, much like for humans, it is a way to celebrate our union with our community.”</p>
<p>“So do you say vows during ceremonies of promise too?” Ger’anu pulled Kiru in front of her and began brushing out his hair so she could put a couple braids in to keep it out of his face. It had become a tradition for the two while they were having long conversations. </p>
<p>“Yes.” Kiru’s hair had grown longer than the last time she braided it. Mama Kana would probably cut it again soon. “They are similar to the vows in human ceremonies in purpose, though the words are often different. Also, while some human religions, like that of your family, have specific words that are used during the ceremony of union, vows for an elven ceremony of promise are always written by the couple intending to wed.”</p>
<p>“Are you going to write your own vows to Brother Koran, then?” Kiru twisted to look at her as he asked. </p>
<p>“No,” she smiled gently. “not for the wedding. Your people would not recognize the ceremony if I did, and Koran would have trouble accepting the joining of souls without it being recognized. His faith is strong, and I am glad of it.”</p>
<p>“I guess that makes sense,” Kiru’s pensive face was back, “but shouldn’t your beliefs matter too?” </p>
<p>“Thank you, Kiru.” This child would grow into a fine man one day. “My beliefs have not been forgotten. Koran made sure of that. We have already declared our personal vows to each other privately, and my attire will be in accord with elven tradition. The flower crown, for instance, will be in place of the custom human veil, and my dress will not be white, but green, symbolizing new growth. There are other ways elven traditions are being incorporated as well. We have been working closely with Father Mikal to find a balance between our cultures.”</p>
<p>Kiru hummed in satisfaction, and after a few moments asked “Is it rude if I ask what you vowed?”</p>
<p>“Not at all.” Ger’anu felt heat rise in her cheeks, and she was glad he was faced away from her at the moment as she was connecting the two side braids in one larger braid down the back of his head. While not rude, their vows had been personal, and she had been glad to say them privately. “I vowed to be true to Koran for eternity, to love him with all my being. I vowed that as the sun shines its rays upon the earth every day, so would I love him every day. I will stand beside him when he faces conflict, and embrace him when sadness finds him. When he grows old, I remain beside him, and when he passes, I will remember him.”</p>
<p>“What if you die first?” Kiru asked.</p>
<p>“It is unlikely that I would.” Ger’anu swallowed back the lump that started forming when she though on the subject. “Elves do not age the same way humans do, and we do not die of old age. However, if I do die before Koran, then I will wait for his soul to rejoin mine, and I hope that the part of my soul that will rest within his will be of some comfort.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Sulan reread Lanalia’s vows to him once again.</p>
<p>‘I vow that no matter what may come, I will be true to you. I will cherish the heart you have entrusted to me, and I will entrust my own heart to your care. My love for you runs deeper than the ocean and higher than the sky, and nothing and no one can come between us. I love you more now than yesterday, and I will love you more tomorrow than I did today. I vow to nurture that love with tender care so that it will continue to grow long into the future. Until death parts us, I will be with you mind, body, and soul, and even after death, my soul will remain entwined with yours.’</p>
<p>Tears rolled down his cheeks as he pressed the time-worn pages to his chest. Lanalia had passed away more than a century ago now, leaving Sulan behind to grieve her after only sixty years of union. She had written her vows on the best parchment she could find so he would be able to keep them with him after her passing, and Sulan had kept them with him, rereading them at least once every day. </p>
<p>Perhaps it would have been easier if they had children that he could focus on, but Lanalia had taken an injury during the war that made her unable to bear a child. Perhaps ironically, that injury was what brought them together as he found her in the aftermath of the battle and nursed her back to health.</p>
<p>It was rare, the love they had found, and special. Elves and humans did not often marry, not in small part due to the difference in lifespan. However, he had known from the moment their eyes first met, as horribly disheveled and blood-covered as she had been at the time, that she was his one, his heart. He would swear his vows to her again in a heartbeat, even knowing this would be the outcome. The time they had had together was precious, and he would never forget.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>If you stumble in the dark, I will bring you the sun. If you shiver in the cold, I will wrap you in a warm embrace. If you cry, I will wipe the tears from your eyes. If you are unable to fall asleep, I will sing you a lullaby. If a nightmare plagues you, I will hold your hand and drive it away. If you fall, I will catch you. If you are hurt, I will do everything I can to make the hurt go away. If you need someone to listen, I will be all ears. If you need company, I will provide it. If you long for adventure, I will take you to find one. If enemies come to find you, I will stand by your side to face them. If good things happen, I will celebrate with you. All these things I will do because I love you.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>He had vowed to be beside her forever. He vowed to hold her when she cried, and he vowed to hold her when she smiled. He vowed to love her with his entire heart and soul. He vowed to always put her first, and he vowed to respect her. All this and more he vowed, and he was true to his vows even in death.</p>
<p>***<br/>
“How do you always know exactly which story to tell?” Alu’vien asked after Taliesin had finished telling the tale of Gwedui. Yes, it was long-winded, and there were about four introductions to introductions, and a few tangents, and some of it seemed downright implausible and lacking in plot development - though Alu’vien had learned from Taliesin this was often the case in some of the older legends since there are not always complete records of them. And yes, it was mostly about the Gwedh - well sort of - but it had told her just what she needed to hear. </p>
<p>‘No one knows exactly what these words mean, but this does not matter, for her love is said to have understood and to have loved her all the more for it.’</p>
<p>Alu’vien realized that her vows did not need to sound like some great work of literature, nor did they need to be overly impressive or hit on the five key points of love, or anything like that. They needed to mean something to Vales. </p>
<p>And that she could do.</p>
<p>Taliesin chuckled lightly. “Well, I just know a lot of stories.”</p>
<p>“Right.” Alu’vien replied sarcastically. “All the more reason you might tell a completely irrelevant story. Yet you always seem to tell the one that is most relevant to me.”</p>
<p>Taliesin went to grab a book from one of the library shelves. “Did I?” He asked with a familiar lilt in his voice. “Perhaps I was just inspired.”</p>
<p>Alu’vien just laughed. “May I borrow a quill and some parchment?”</p>
<p>“The quill, yes.” Taliesin responded, handing her what she asked for. “The parchment you can keep - I don’t particularly want it back with your scribbles all over it.” He paused. “Not until after the wedding anyway.”</p>
<p>“What will you do with them after the wedding?” </p>
<p>The scholar pulled a half-bound tome from one of the shelves and passed it to her. The cover read <em>Compositions of the Great Orator, Lady Alu’vien of Valarien</em>.</p>
<p>“It is still a work in production, mind you.” Taliesin took the tome back before Alu’vien could fully react. “Partially because you have more orations to deliver, and partially because I am still collecting the ones that I missed hearing personally.”</p>
<p>Alu’vien shook her head.</p>
<p>Her wedding vows to Vales were going to be put in a book. A book which contained every speech she had ever made and probably a good number of other things she had said that weren’t quite speeches but almost sounded like one.</p>
<p>Leave it to Taliesin to help cure her writer’s block and then make it five times worse. Though, on second thought, if he somehow got his hands on the speech she had written just in case they lost that one time… well, her vows were going to be far better than that.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Do you know what happened at The Cat and the Fiddle? </p>
<p>You see, it began with a hey diddle diddle one summer night. The sky was all clear and the stars were quite bright. At an hour after dark at The Cat and the Fiddle - hey, now, diddle diddle! - the cow began to moo. It leapt on and on and so high that some thought it would soon jump over the moon. </p>
<p>The innkeeper ran out to see what the fuss was about. </p>
<p>And there were Miss Dish and Sir Spoon. </p>
<p>Li’l Dog - so the innkeeper was called - laughed to see such a sight, for it was clear on this night, Miss Dish had run away with Sir Spoon.</p>
<p>The two had been lovers for as long as he knew, though her parents had long disapproved. </p>
<p>And, what is more, just the morning afore, Miss Dish was to wed with Duke Fork - a man about as lovely as raw pork, yet her parents liked him best, though he was often over-dressed, too well-mannered, and boastful too. Quite an uppity man, he thought others little better than ham.</p>
<p>For all the reasons herewrit, and - most important in it, for the love of her dearest Sir Spoon, Miss Dish had protested the match from March until June.</p>
<p>Her parents of course refused to give in, and the wedding was set, and the bridegroom grinned.</p>
<p>Miss Dish then forswore, should Duke Fork dare to show, she would nay marry him. Instead, and much better, much happier too, she would up and away with Sir Spoon.</p>
<p>Well here, clear as day, though the hour was late, Miss Dish and Sir Spoon made away. They had, on the dawn of the nuptial day, arisen and run from their home to the bay. Teatown behind them, and Port Fiddle ahead, they had run on and on til the moon showed its head.</p>
<p>They dashed fast apace toward the jolly old inn, The Cat and the Fiddle, where - hey diddle diddle! - Li’l Dog, the old innkeeper would take them in. He was, in the end, Sir Spoon’s father’s friend, and the town friar besides - he ran an inn on the side.</p>
<p>As they eloped, Miss Dish and Sir Spoon smiled up at the moon, and here at the inn, before Li’l Dog and the cow - who continued to jump and to moo - they said their vows, they kissed, and they bowed, and the cow jumped over the moon.</p>
<p>“I will love you and honor you, hey diddle diddle. In good times and bad, in sickness and health, I give you my life, and my love, and my wealth. Forever and always, til death and after, I am yours; you are mine, hey diddle diddle.”</p>
<p>*** </p>
<p>Peppa exploded. "This HAS to be where the waters swell! It's too hard to get to the ocean!"</p>
<p> Whims stepped back so far from Peppa's yelling that he almost fell over the bridge railing. This made Peppa laugh. It was a genuine laugh that turned into sobs. She tried to muffle them with her hands, but it was obvious that she was crying.</p>
<p> "Peppa," Whims tried to soothe. "We can look again tomorrow, when the sun is up. I don't think we'll be able to find it tonight. Not with how you are feeling."</p>
<p> Peppa replied but her hands muffled her response.</p>
<p> "What was that? You agree, great! Let's get you home."</p>
<p> Peppa's hands left her face and she gritted out a loud no to her future brother-in-law. "We can't leave until we find it."</p>
<p> "Why, Peppa? Why is this so important to you?"</p>
<p>Peppa just looked at him angrily. She stayed silent on her reasons. She knew that if he discovered she lost the vows, she'd be in big trouble.</p>
<p> "Is this note supposed to be a secret rendezvous with a new boyfriend?"</p>
<p> Peppa's face turned red at Whims's line of questioning. She stayed silent.</p>
<p> "A new girlfriend?" He paused. "Is this about meeting a dealer?"</p>
<p>Each question Whims threw at her made her face turn an even deeper shade of red. She felt so embarrassed and ashamed that he thought it was some romantic plot, but really she lost his and Paige's vows. </p>
<p>She blurted it out, her voice rising with every word. "I lost your vows and now there is some boy that deciphered my encryption on them and he's making me do a scavenger hunt to find them and-and we can't find the note!"</p>
<p> Whims tried to rub his ears discreetly. Peppa definitely noticed and apologized softly. Whims walked over to his future little sister and wrapped her in another hug.</p>
<p> "It's okay Peppa. We'll find the notes and the vows and I'll kick that little jerk’s butt, okay?"</p>
<p> Peppa nodded, rubbing her face on Whims's soft gray sweatshirt. She thought a little about how she might be rubbing her mascara on his sweatshirt, but couldn't remember if she put make-up on this morning.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Grishna held the vows in his hands. </p>
<p>One of Stephanie's cousins called out, "When were the banns posted?"</p>
<p> "Three months ago as is custom. It was posted in the Temple of Piyeen like all banns are," Grishna smugly replied. He knew the question was an attempt by the Greich family to invalidate the marriage and the vows given by the couple. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> "Are we going to get another egg?"</p>
<p> These were the first words the love of my life spoke to me. We didn't know that those would be the first words to ignite a relationship so powerful between us. </p>
<p>My fianceé and I were paired in our health class to take care of an egg. We had never met before and I had just transferred into her high school. It was my second day and I'm hit with this assignment and meeting a really pretty girl. </p>
<p>The reason why she asked me this question is because the teacher offered extra credit to any duo that attempted to raise twin eggs. I said yes and this began the most epic partnership to hit that health class...for the three weeks of the assignment. </p>
<p>We went our separate ways from that class and ended up partnered together in biology, chemistry, English, and history, for the rest of high school. I think our teachers were telling us something but we were both too oblivious to their machinations. She was in love with the soccer star and I, well I was focused on my video games and homework. Also, Shelly Williams, but that's not a good person to mention to my lovely wife-to-be. (There was an incident at the five year reunion. I won't get into it.)</p>
<p>We graduated high school in the requisite four years and moved onto college. She got a full-ride to the state school two hours away and I went to the community college with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. She put all her focus on chemistry and graduated with honors. (She is the reason that I passed chemistry in high school.) </p>
<p>I discovered a passion for law after being pulled over for speeding in the same spot for the third time in a year. Yes, yes laugh it up. You'll be regretting that when you try to talk me out of writing you a ticket. </p>
<p>I entered the police academy and graduated well. I was picked to work as a patrolling car. What did you all think I was picked for narcotics or something? Sheesh.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was responding to a call of a robbery in progress at a grocery store. No I won't tell which grocery store, but my fianceé can. </p>
<p>My partner and I walked to the front door of the store. The first thing we saw was that a masked man was running out the door holding a backpack. He was running away.</p>
<p>My partner asked me, "Why does the bad guy get to run away? When do I get to run away?"</p>
<p>I replied with never and I heard a laugh. It was a laugh I hadn't heard in over four years. I couldn't look for her because, well, bad guy trying to get away. </p>
<p>We ran after the guy and we were luckily able to catch up with his head start. We arrested him and put him in the back of the car. </p>
<p>I had begun the arresting paperwork because my partner was a dick, even though she was a female, and made me do all the paperwork. I hated being a rookie.</p>
<p>My now fianceé approached me. She told me that she had the same number from high school and she expected me to call her that night. I was thrilled. My partner wasn't, but she had to deal with me being excited and telling her all about the girl who got away in high school.</p>
<p>I called her when I got off shift. I left three voicemails because I was rambling. Luckily, she thinks my rambling is cute.</p>
<p>We began to date and after the disaster that was the five year reunion, I knew she was the one. My partner endured my rhapsodizing about my girlfriend and gave really good advice on how to propose. Seriously, shout out to my partner that endured four years of me talking about this amazing woman in my life.</p>
<p>The reason I'm telling everyone this is because I vow that I will ramble to you, I will talk about how amazing you are to everyone I know, I will love and support you through the rest of our lives together. I will be the father to your children. I will be the best father I can be and show them the love I have for them.</p>
<p>Honey, don't cry. These are my promises to you and our daughter. Although she has a different biological father, she is mine in all the ways that count. I love her and I will raise her with you. I vow that we will be a team, through the good and the bad that this life may throw at us. I vow to always try to come home to you. I vow to be your hero and to be faithful to you in word and in deed. </p>
<p>I will love you and our children in this life and the next. And no, I'm not crying!</p>
<p>*** </p>
<p>I will love you forever and a day<br/>
I vow to never go away<br/>
and you will promise to stay<br/>
and love me forever and a day</p>
<p>Your children I will bear<br/>
The title of mother I will wear<br/>
Hurting them, I will never dare<br/>
for them I will take great care</p>
<p>I will love you in good health and bad<br/>
I will love you in good times and bad<br/>
I will love you when plague ravages the land<br/>
I will love you even if you leave the band</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Right, so jumping off the back of a giant eagle while flying over a lake to avoid crash landing at full speed into the side of the cliff had sounded like a good idea, but as it turns out, the lake was really more of a very wide, very shallow puddle. It really was not deep enough to cushion the fall, and she was probably lucky to walk away with just a broken leg. Still, it wasn’t like she had many options. There were, after all, no slow fall spells in the real world, and she didn’t walk around with a parachute at all times either. </p>
<p>She hadn’t even been expecting to be picked up by the giant eagle, but that had been fortunate at the time, despite the rather painful ending. She had been in the middle of a forest, a safe little nook she had found a long time ago. Unfortunately, today, it was not quite as safe as she remembered. A pack of fire wolves invaded as they chased a winter stag. Fire wolves and trees do NOT mix well. The giant eagles just happened to pass over the forest just in time to save her from becoming charred nymph.</p>
<p>Apparently, she would have to start her vows over again. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>One rule. That’s all he had to follow. One. Not ten, not twenty. One. So how did he screw it up so badly? You NEVER address the princess informally in the Weinare forest even if you are getting married to her. Not in public, anyway. She doesn’t care. She finds it cute. But her father, mother, five brothers, three sisters, seven uncles, two aunts, twenty-three cousins, three advisors, and the rest of the Weinare had a different opinion. And they were of a mind to share that opinion, loudly, violently, and emphatically.</p>
<p>Well, at least he didn’t slip up until after the vows. As long as she could keep him in one piece long enough to place the royal wreath on his head to signify his new status as a prince, everything would turn out fine. Probably.<br/>
***</p>
<p>Thelor had been taught since he was young not to trust demons. They were evil creatures, he was told, who would try to steal your soul any way they could. That was why he had mistrusted Anka at every step. </p>
<p>When he was separated from his scouting unit after being injured while fighting a pack of Rurin Orcs and Kosak Goblins in the Tres Losi Forest, he thought he would die before making it back to the village. Anka had saved him, stopped the bleeding, bandaged his wounds, yet he expected at any moment that she would ask for payment. When she offered him food and water, he refused it for fear it was tainted with some sort of demonic essence that would enthrall him. When she warned him not to leave the cave she had taken him to because enemies still prowled around, he left anyway, thinking she was trying to trap him with the fear of leaving. When she was injured protecting him from the enemies she had warned him about, he thought it was a way to curry favor so he would swear his soul to her.</p>
<p>For two full years, she had traveled beside him, helping him despite his refusal to acknowledge her while he tried to rescue the survivors of his village. </p>
<p>At some point, he began to realize that she had no reason to stay. Demons were supposed to be deceptive and evil, and they were also supposed to be smart and self-serving. In the entirety of the two years they had been together, she had only given of herself, never asked. She had placed herself in harm’s way and nearly died to save him on numerous occasions. </p>
<p>When he realized how ill he treated her despite her only ever helping, he began to wonder which of them was the real demon. After that, he began to look at her in a different light.</p>
<p>They began talking at the campsite, and he learned that demons were greatly misunderstood. Humans assumed that demons and devils were the same, so they treated both as great evils and sought to purge them; however, while a devil might try to steal your soul, a demon could not even if he or she had the desire to do so. While they lived longer, were stronger, could see and hear better, and had horns on their heads, demons were not so different from humans. Devils hunted demons as often as they hunted humans.</p>
<p>It was in the third year of their travels together - both having lost their villages to the orcs and goblins long ago - that he began to realize his feelings for her. She had proven a true friend and a beautiful soul, and he wanted to cherish her. When he confessed his feelings, he had been amazed by the dark blue blush that graced her cheeks.</p>
<p>It was that night as the stars bore witness that they made their vows to each other. </p>
<p>He vowed to love her for the rest of his days, to treasure her like he should have from the start. He vowed to strive every day to deepen his understanding of her and to deepen the bond between them.</p>
<p>She vowed to hold him forever in her heart and to give her heart to him to hold. She vowed to strive every day to show him the depths of her love, to be his everything as he was hers.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Mela tossed the crumpled paper in the air and sent a flicker of flame to destroy it once again. Every time he tried to write his vows, it started to sound like he was writing some sort of ritual to bind a seleneste. Considering that Nona was half seleneste, that seemed in poor taste.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“Hiram atshal sakin, Zenli.” the Seer greeted. “How can I help you, young one?”</p>
<p>“Hiram atshal sakin, Seer.” Zenli shuffled in place, not sure whether to ask the question or not. “I want- no I need- that is -ugh!”</p>
<p>The Seer chuckled, placing a calming hand on Zenli’s shoulder. “Only you know what to say in your vows, Zenli. Look in your heart and you will find the words.” </p>
<p>Zenli blushed. It was one thing to think about asking, but having the Seer just say it like that, and so calmly, somehow made Zenli incredibly self-conscious. </p>
<p>“I’m trying to, Seer, but every time I write down what I want to say, it just feels wrong.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps,” the Seer guided Zenli to a seat and poured a cup of runeberry tea. “that is because you are trying to write what you *think* your vows should be rather than what your vows truly are.”</p>
<p>“Aren’t they the same?” Zenli asked, sipping the runeberry tea carefully to avoid a burnt tongue. The warm, not-too-sweet tea settled the nerves that had been making Zenli tense for days, just as the Seer’s tea always did. Zenli was still not convinced the Seer didn’t use magic in the tea.</p>
<p>“Not quite.” the Seer took a seat across from Zenli. “Now, close your eyes for a moment. Good. Focus on your breathing. In… now out, slowly… again, in… and out… once more…. You are in the forest, beside the clear stream. The birds are chirping high up in the trees and the scent of the lavender fields wafts on the gentle breeze. Raenei is sitting on the hollow log and the two of you are talking about your day. The light of the sun peeks through the trees and lands on Raenei’s seated form as a smile graces Raenei’s lips…. You feel a need to tell Raenei of your love again, to make sure Raenei knows….”</p>
<p>Words began bubbling to the surface of Zenli’s thoughts, the words Zenli had been looking for. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“You two are definitely made for each other.”</p>
<p>What do you mean?</p>
<p>“Doesn’t matter. Look, your name isn’t Joe, you are not a farmer, you are not marrying a princess, and she was not your childhood friend.”</p>
<p>And? I don’t see the problem. It’s touching.</p>
<p>“And it has nothing to do with your relationship. Try again.”</p>
<p>But-</p>
<p>“Look, what was it about Brianna that made you fall in love?”</p>
<p>Well, there are a lot of things. Briana has a beautiful heart, and even when she was in a bad place, she still helped others every chance she could. She encouraged me in little ways here and there, made me feel cared for, and I always knew she would be there when I needed her. She was everything I could ever ask for, and I want to be that for her.</p>
<p>“See, you don’t need some story about a farmer and princess to write your vows.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“Bound to each other by an invisible thread of fate, it is no accident that we met, that we have grown side by side. Not by blood are we bound, but by something deeper, more profound. You have kindled the light in me when my own light waned. You have been the first to enter so deeply into my heart. And I stand before you today, not as the Lady of the Elves, or the Heir of my Line, but as Alu’vien, an elleth who seeks only to spend every day of her life by your side - as an ally who will support you and revel in your success, as a friend who will be there for you in sickness and in health, as a lover who will honor and cherish you always and forever. You, Vales, fight good, and it will be my honor to fight always at your side. I love you, meleth nin.”</p>
<p>In the end, Alu’vien was quite happy with her vows. And by the look on his face, so was Vales. When she leaned in to place the golden band inset with a leaf-shaped emerald on his finger - an heirloom of her Line given to her by her father - Vales whispered so softly that even her perceptive Elven ears barely heard it. “You fight good too.”</p>
<p>Alu’vien felt her pointy ears turn red as she blushed.</p>
<p>She was glad Taliesin convinced her to keep that sentence in her vows.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Little Bo Peep had lost her sheep - again.</p>
<p>She sighed and sat down to rest. She had no clue where to find them, and she was sure that if she left them alone, they would come back wagging their tails behind them.</p>
<p>But this time they didn’t come home.</p>
<p>It had been three days, and still there was no sign of her sheep, so Little Bo Peep took up her shepherd’s crook and headed to the pasture next door.</p>
<p>“Little Boy Blue!” She called out as she rounded the hill. “Come, blow your horn!”</p>
<p>There was no reply.</p>
<p>She sighed and began to look about. This had happened before.</p>
<p>Sure enough, the sheep were in the meadow and the cows in the corn, but where was Little Boy Blue? He should be tending the sheep!</p>
<p>Little Bo Peep gathered up her sheep - they had come to visit with those that belonged to Little Boy Blue. She would tell her neighbor when she found him that the fence between their pastures was broken again.</p>
<p>But first she had to find him.</p>
<p>After collecting her sheep and shooing them home, she went searching again for her neighbor and friend. Then, near the barn, she spotted the twins.</p>
<p>“Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum!” She called out. “Have you seen Little Boy Blue? Why does he not tend to his sheep?”</p>
<p>The twins pointed to a haystack under which, barely visible, Little Boy Blue lay fast asleep. </p>
<p>“Will you wake him?” She asked.</p>
<p>“Oh no, not I!” Tweedle Dee gave reply.</p>
<p>“For if I wake him, surely he’ll cry!” Tweedle Dum explained.</p>
<p>Little Bo Peep sighed and shooed the twins away - off they went down the hill to find another place to play.</p>
<p>“Little Boy Blue!” Little Bo Peep cried in her neighbor’s ear. “Come blow your horn!”</p>
<p>Her friend stirred and mumbled “But the sheep are in the meadow and the cows in the corn.” He rolled over under the hay and was soon sleeping again.</p>
<p>“And I just had to rangle my sheep away.” She knelt down, her patience quite thin, “For the pasture fence is broken again.” </p>
<p>She poked with her crook at the hay over her friend, nudging it ‘til it fell off of him.</p>
<p>Little Boy Blue awoke from his nap now that the warm hay was not on his back. He sat up where he was and looked at Little Bo Peep. “There is a way to help keep our sheep.” He began, staring right into her eyes. “Your sheep and mine, they like to frolic together, to laugh and to play like friends in the hay.”</p>
<p>“Yes.” Little Bo Peep gave a sigh. “But your sheep are yours, and mine are mine. They had best be kept in their own pastures, but - all too often - the fence becomes broken.”</p>
<p>“And this,” Little Boy Blue said with a smile, “is where my solution-” he paused “no, let’s call it as it is, my proposal comes in.” He produced from his pocket a hay-filled horn, shook his head and tried again. Out came a ring which he placed on her finger while smiling. “We’ve played this game plenty of times: You lose your sheep and then I lose mine. We go back and forth from one pasture to the other. You wake me up, and I play my horn less for the sheep, more for you, my Little Bo Peep. It is in my heart, and I hope in yours too, that I wish of our pastures to make one, not keep two.”</p>
<p>Little Bo Peep blushed and smiled. “Yes.” She replied.</p>
<p>And so they were wed, and their sheep were well fed on grass in one pasture - the fence long forgotten. And in their vows, the two shepherds declared, “Together forever we shall keep our sheep. We’ll walk hand in hand through the fields, and under the hay side by side we will sleep.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>C: “Somehow, when I saw this, I thought there was a demon involved.”<br/>L: “No! Not this one.”</p>
<p>Before stating the ‘right words’ were “different,” L: “Yes, this was the best she could come up with.”</p>
<p>L: “I think I keep going back to Michael the archangel. How exactly I always tie Michael the archangel to priests and then name them that way, I don’t know.”</p>
<p>L: “I almost, almost ended it there. But I didn’t.”<br/>C: “It is a five year old.”<br/>L: “Maybe seven.”</p>
<p>S: Are you ready to<br/>S:, L: &amp; C: REEEEEEEEEEEEEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>S: /stares accusatory at L/<br/>L: I told you I was in a bittersweet mood.<br/>S: She keeps killing off wives. WIFE KILLER! /pointing at L/<br/>C: I’ve killed off a few husbands.<br/>S: Okay, but that was sweet. It wasn’t gut-wrenching murder!<br/>L: This wasn’t murder!<br/>S: Not this one.<br/>L: Touche<br/>/A moment later/ L: Oh, it does get worse.<br/>TRIGGER WARNING: Infertility</p>
<p>General trigger warning: Character Death</p>
<p>S: Why do you two keep putting elves with humans!<br/>C: /sheepish grin with teehee voice/ Because I’m a human who loves an elf.</p>
<p>S: /to C/ Is this one of your husband kills?<br/>C: No.<br/>L: /pressing hands over heart/ This one was mine.<br/>S: You killed a husband!?<br/>S: I feel like this is going to be a theme of reviewing part 2.</p>
<p>C: /pauses her reading to note that she quoted accurately from a previous section while beaming with a self-satisfied smirk and all the pride of an English major/<br/>S: /heavy sigh from an older English major/<br/>L: /just chuckling silently to herself finding the whole thing amusing as yet another English major/</p>
<p>S: He’s fanboying and making a book about it.<br/>C: Technically yes, but only because he’s so scholarly. He doesn’t realize he’s doing it.<br/>S: It comes off as fatherly, though.<br/>L: It’s really not. It’s just him being him.</p>
<p>S: /while reading about Miss Dish and Sir Spoon/ Hold on, I have to go back ‘cause I lost my pacing in this. </p>
<p>L: “I still love that when I first read this is said ‘hero.’”<br/>S: “Freaking kindle corrected ‘jerk’ to ‘hero’!”</p>
<p>General Comment: I meant to go back to that story.<br/>Comment to the General Comment: We got distracted ny new stories.</p>
<p>L: “That’s not where I intended it to go when I wrote one rule, but I like it that way.”</p>
<p>L: Stop interrupting! Do you know how many times I’ve said Thelor?!<br/>/uncontrollable laughter from S: and C:/<br/>L: /starts reading again/ Thelor<br/>S: One more now.<br/>L: /glares/<br/>S: /self-satisfied shrug/ I’m just a little pretty angel.</p>
<p>Discussion in which L: becomes very defensive and then begins reading as C: continues discussing. They battle for volume, stop, laugh, and L: asks if she should start over.<br/>C: “Then you’d have to read Thelor again.”</p>
<p>S: “You have two under-the-hay innuendos.”<br/>C: “Yes, but the first was an accident.”<br/>(We switched to slashes because of formatting issues between AO3 and Docs)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. 28 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day 28 total: 0 words<br/>28-day total: 44,918 words</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We wrote nothing on day 28.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. 29 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day 29! Warning one of us, not naming names, began a cyle of 3-4 stories that continues to Day 30. I am not acknowledging everyone in the story. I will acknowledge Peppa because she begins today.</p>
<p>Day 29 total: 2,168 words<br/>29-day total: 47,086 words</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What is it with you and nursery rhymes, Calenlas?</p>
<p>"I just want to know what they declared." L: makes thinking face Did we have a story about a Jessie already?  I want to know what's up with Jessie." "Hehehehe." "I kind of had a few stories that I just wanted to write in pieces." "I hope they see what I did there."</p>
<p>Character asked question: "Honestly, why does everything have to be so complicated?"<br/>C answer: "Very good question. Answer: Authors."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peppa decided that if she left make-up on his sweatshirt that she'd wash it and explain to Paige what a good guy her fiancé is. </p>
<p>Whims was talking to her but she couldn't hear it over her now stuffy nose. </p>
<p> "What did you say? I missed it."</p>
<p> "I said, Peppa, why don't we check the willow that's closer to the creek bank than the bridge over the lake. If I remember correctly there were always marks on the tree because of flooding."</p>
<p> "That makes sense," Peppa nodded and moved out of the hug that had comforted her just moments ago. As she moved away, she took a glance to see if Whims's sweatshirt was stained. It wasn't. Good, she didn't want to explain to Paige about what they were doing and make-up and ugh. Peppa was just done with today.</p>
<p>She trudged over to the willow. There was a blanket beneath the tree. And a note in the center of the blanket! Hallelujah! Wait, no. Peppa needs the vows not a note.</p>
<p>Peppa growled in frustration.</p>
<p> "Whoa, Peppa. There is a note. Why don't you open it before going all growly to the air, yeah?" Whims stated, once again resting his hands comfortingly on Peppa's shoulders. </p>
<p>Peppa shrugged him off and picked up the note. She ripped the note open, careful to not tear the paper. </p>
<p> "I was ready to meet,<br/>
but from my seat,<br/>
I spy a man,<br/>
this dashed my plan,<br/>
to make a date.<br/>
Although it's very late,<br/>
If you want your papers back,<br/>
a sweet treat is what you lack,<br/>
meet me at the Sugar Shack."</p>
<p> Peppa gaped at the note. 'Wha-date? What?'</p>
<p> "What does the note say Peppa?" Whims attempted to read it over her shoulder. </p>
<p> She wordlessly handed it to him.</p>
<p> "So much for not being a rendezvous?" Whims laughed.</p>
<p> Peppa still silent but mouth closed now, lightly backhanded his arm and pointed at the last line.</p>
<p> "You want me to take you there?"</p>
<p> She nodded.</p>
<p>"Okay, to the Sugar Shack we go!"</p>
<p> ***</p>
<p> "Although you tried to kill me several times, I will love you forever Jessie. Thank you for agreeing to be my wife."</p>
<p> ***</p>
<p>It was there under the willow tree, there where the breeze rustled the leaves, there where the sun turned to shade. It was there by the creek, there where the water babbled lightly, there where the morning air was crisp. It was there where the border line was drawn, there where the two tribes never went, there where the lovers met. It was there where their hearts beat hard, there where the love grew, there where their vows were said.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>She knew it wasn’t fair, knew she was asking too much from him, but still, she needed him to promise her, to vow because she knew even if it hurt he would keep his vow, and she needed him to keep it, to keep him and the rest of the people safe. She vowed to love him, and he vowed to love her, so yes, it was unfair, and she knew why the tears fell down his cheeks now. It hurt to know she made those tears come, and it hurt to know she would likely cause more, but this was the only way to protect him, even if it would break his heart. She was cursed, after all, and unfortunately it wasn’t the kind of curse love would break. No, but love would end it, no matter how painful it would be. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Happy endings were boring. Well, that’s what she used to think. Right now, though, she would love a happy ending. It was time for a hero to swoop in and save the day, defeating the evil villain. Except, she was the evil villain - well, villainess - and the hero was currently bleeding to death in her lair, so that seemed unlikely. Honestly, why did everything have to be so complicated? </p>
<p>She hadn’t meant to mortally wound him. He was supposed to dodge just in the knick of time and mortally wound her instead. That’s how the hero-villain dynamic was supposed to work. So why didn’t the man just dodge the stupid laser attack? Huh? WHY?!</p>
<p>Well, there was one way to save him, but the villain wasn’t supposed to save the hero, was she? Then again, it’s not like anyone would find out. She could just heal him enough to prevent him from dying then leave the room like she thought he was dead. His sidekick would come eventually. Probably.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>He knew what he had to do, but it hurt. He had vowed to love her just as she had vowed to love him, and he had vowed to do this for her, to stop her before she could hurt what she loved. He wished again that they had found a way to break the curse, but time had run out. When she made him promise years ago, he had cried, but he had held out some hope. Now, that hope was gone, but a promise, a vow to the one he loved, must be kept. As she lunged at him, he readied his sword.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Maybe she had made the security system too strong. It had already been nearly four hours and his sidekick hadn’t managed to get in yet. He would wake up soon, and there was no good way to explain how he didn’t bleed to death if someone didn’t come find him. She could dose him with sleeping powder, but it had some nasty side-effects if it got in an open wound, so it would be better to avoid that.</p>
<p>The only other option would be finding a way to get his sidekick in here faster. She could disable a few of the security measures, but if she shut all of them off, then it would be too suspicious. But the sidekick was having trouble even with the simple ones… Maybe she could go undercover. The hero was the only one who ever really saw her up close, so it should be fine if she wore a disguise, right?</p>
<p>There was still a wig lying around from Halloween… oh, and there were some colored contacts. There were probably still left-over clothes from the last bunch of prisoners the hero had freed. She could say she’d been rescued by him too. Then she just had to get the sidekick in, help him get the hero out, and disappear before the hero woke up.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>She felt her mind clear as pain erupted in her chest. She felt the blade pulled free and felt him pull her body into his arms. She felt his body trembling as he was wracked by sobs, and with the little strength she had left, she reached to hug him one last time. Then the pain began to ebb, the world grow dark.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>...the hero needed a new sidekick. She had blatantly told him a number of times where the traps were and how they worked, and he still wasn’t the least bit suspicious of her. She’d have to send the hero an anonymous tip later. Would the hero trust the letter, though? Maybe she would need to kidnap the sidekick and hide him somewhere for a while. That should make the hero find a new sidekick at least for a little while. She’d figure out a long-term solution later.</p>
<p>At any rate, it still took too long to get to the hero. The sidekick didn’t know how to bandage him up properly either, so she had to do it. She might have to use the sleeping powder after all so she could escort them back to the hero’s headquarters. Somehow, she didn’t trust that the sidekick could get him there in one piece.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Her arms fell from around him as her body grew cold. He had kept his vow, but it was a vow he had prayed he would never need to keep. His heart hurt, and she wasn’t there to mend it. But then, he felt something. It was slight, but he was sure. She had moved. There again. The hand that had fallen by his thigh twitched. A moment later, he heard her moan, and another moment later he watched her eyes begin to flutter open. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Those stupid hero support staff members were too meddling! “Are you okay? We should have Doc take a look just in case.” “Let us give you an escort so you get home safe.” “You can’t go out without a coat! You’ll freeze in this weather.” And what was with trusting her blindly? She could be a spy sent by the villain, and they let her walk into the central control room without an escort. Well, she could just hack into the system to get information if she wanted it anyway. Their computer geek was good, but there were still holes she could get in through. The patch she ran on their system last month should keep out most hackers, though. </p>
<p>At any rate, the wig was starting to irritate her, and the sleeping powder she used on the hero would wear off any minute, so she really needed to get out of here, but the worry warts wouldn’t let her leave since a blizzard started about an hour after she had arrived with the sidekick and unconscious hero. Really, it would take more than a blizzard to hurt her. She made a blizzard last year, for goodness sake.</p>
<p>Whatever. The hot chocolate was good, anyway. She’d just have to slip out after she enjoyed one more cup.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>When Zathry vowed to love her to the moon and back at their wedding, she hadn’t expected it to be quite so literal. Then again, she hadn’t expected him to be from the moon either or to have a private teleporter pad they could use to go there and back in an instant, or to have the ability to share a piece of his soul with her so she could walk around on the moon without a spacesuit. Well, she loved him to the moon and back too.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“Wake up sleepyhead.”</p>
<p>Why on earth would she do that? It was comfortable here. Warm and comfortable.</p>
<p>“You know, you’re going to get in trouble if they see you without the wig on.” </p>
<p>Wig? What wi- AH! </p>
<p>She shot up in an instant, looking frantically for the wig that the voice told her fell off. </p>
<p>“Here.”</p>
<p>Oh. Right. The hero was awake, and he was calmly sitting across from her on the coffee table in the hero headquarters’s break room, handing her the wig that fell off when she evidently fell asleep on the couch. She blamed the hot chocolate. It was more effective than sleeping powder.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>They said their vows to each other under the cherry tree.</p>
<p>Lady Rorne used to hide under the cherry tree when she wanted to get away from her parents and the life they dictated for her, and Nile would go there every now and then to rest and have his lunch. After a few chance meetings, the two found themselves going to the cherry tree on a more and more regular schedule. Nile would bring just a little too much food, and Lady Rorne would just happen to have brought two copies of her book. It was always just an accident, of course. A happy coincidence, they always said.</p>
<p>Still, coincidence couldn’t explain why Lady Rorne came even when it was pouring rain, or why Nile did too. But even that, they would say was because they liked the rain - it was refreshing, they always said. It confused the servants to no end when Lady Rorne just smiled and laughed when she caught a cold the next day, and Nile’s mother was beside herself trying to understand why her son smiled despite his fever.</p>
<p>Perhaps that was why today when they said their vows under the cherry tree, they both vowed to love each other unconditionally and to have many more coincidences. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>She still couldn’t believe that the hero had started infiltrating her lair every Friday at 3:00 with a cup of hot chocolate. It was insane. The sleeping powder must have addled his brain. She was definitely going to demand a full refund.</p>
<p>Well, whatever. It wasn’t like she had any plans on Fridays anyway.</p>
<p>Still, was a hero supposed to just casually bring hot chocolate over to enjoy in the villain’s living room? I mean, her fireplace was better than the one in his headquarters, but the hero and villain were supposed to fight each other, not befriend each other. And he didn’t even tell his sidekick, so if she locked him in her dungeon, no one would even know where to find him. She’d have to send them an anonymous tip. Well, she didn’t like being an ungracious host, though, and the hot chocolate was delicious, so she would just pretend he wasn’t the hero and she wasn’t the villain on Fridays at 3:00.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>L: “Oh, um, yeah.”<br/>C: “Read.” paused. “Who did you kill?”<br/>L: “Yes.”</p>
<p>After passionately reading what L: wrote, S: /glares/<br/>C: /high-pitched, what did you do? Kind of squeal./<br/>L: “Sorry” She didn’t sound sorry, though…</p>
<p>S: “I had thought, ‘oh she’s getting a conscience.”<br/>C: “Nope! She already had one.”<br/>L: “Yeah, she already had one. That’s the problem.”</p>
<p>L: “I told you it would get worse first.”<br/>S: (to C:) “Now you know what I meant”<br/>C: glares at L:</p>
<p>S: “I’m now suspicious of the sidekick being a villain.”<br/>L: “No, the sidekick’s fine.”<br/>S: “He’s just that inept?”<br/>L: “Yes.”</p>
<p>C: “And that’s all we ever hear about them?”<br/>L: “Yes.”<br/>S: “Evil, evil woman.”<br/>L: “I told you I would make it a little better.”<br/>Pause<br/>S: “This time she didn’t kill the wife. No, she did and brought her back.” - details all the reasons why this was worse.</p>
<p>“You are a wonderful person, but as a writer you are evil.”<br/>“Yes. So are you.”<br/>“That’s true.”</p>
<p>“I wonder if I want to be the most evil or the least.”<br/>“”Yes.”<br/>“Agreed.”</p>
<p>S: “Okay, that’s cute. You (L:) are slightly redeemed. /Slightly/ redeemed from being a wife-killer.”<br/>L: /mutters/ “I killed a husband too though.”<br/>C: wonders if that’s supposed to make it better and then recalls she pointed that out about herself too…<br/>S: /eats a french frie aggressively/</p>
<p>S: “Is this AM or PM?”<br/>L: “I never specified, but I assume PM.”<br/>C: “It’s better if it’s AM.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. 30 November 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is day two of revolving stories. I blame L. But only because she wrote them. (I named names today... oops)</p>
<p>Day 30 total: 5,409 words<br/>30-day total: 52,495 words</p>
<p>We hit word-count goal, by like 0800 hours!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>"At some point I realized it was 4am. I just sorta guessed where I was when midnight came." "That one got away from me a bit." "I really hope they see what I did there." "Google docs just scared me. Spent like six hours typing, closed the tab, and saw a notification 'may not save changes.' Thankfully it did save them."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rionora closed her wings tightly around Seydon and herself as she desperately tried to shield his body from the flames. She was resistant to them, but he was not, and he was already far too injured. Blood still trickled out of the wounds on his shoulder and back, and she didn’t even want to think about what happened to his leg. He needed a healer, but the humans would attack her on sight if she tried to find one. </p>
<p>Gornash had warned her that she would only be hurt if she fell in love with a human, but even if she understood with her head, her heart wouldn’t listen. Seydon wasn’t like other humans. He saw her for who she was not as a dragon and a threat. He was kind, and he cared for her in a way she didn’t know anyone ever would.</p>
<p>This was all her fault. She had wanted Gornash’s blessing before they said their vows since he was like a father to her, but he had been enraged by the idea of Rionora marrying a human and attacked Seydon. While Seydon defended himself, he refused to go on the offensive and injure someone Rionora cared about, but a human fighting a dragon with only defense will eventually lose. Rionora, not able to bear watching him be hurt, had tried to stop Gornash, but she didn’t want to hurt Gornash either, and her hesitance nearly cost Seydon his life. </p>
<p>When Gornash had set the forest on fire, Rionora couldn’t believe it. The forest was sacred; he always taught her that, but he was destroying it because of his anger of humans and he turned a deaf ear on her pleas to stop, to stop hurting the person she loved. She could no longer forgive him when he bit off Seydon’s leg. She tackled him off just as his claws started to rip into Seydon’s back.</p>
<p>When Gornash only roared and lashed out at her, calling her a betrayer of her kin, she felt her heart throb even more painfully, and when he lunged for her, it took every ounce of willpower she had to extinguish the flame in his heart with as strong and deep a bite to his neck as she could manage. The pain from the wounds Gornash left in his final attack barely registered over the pain in her heart, as she registered his death and the fact she might lose Seydon as well.</p>
<p>It took too long to transform into her two-legged form, but she was afraid that if she tried to hold Seydon in her four-legged form right now that she would break him. She tried to think of a way to save him, but dragon medicine would be more likely to kill him than heal him. It had to be a human village. There was one nearby with a talented priest. They could save him. They had to. She just had to make sure they didn’t injure him when they attacked her.</p>
<p>Holding Seydon as carefully as she could, Rionora took flight, soaring above the forest, above the flames, and took off for the village as fast as she dared. She couldn’t bring back Gornash, and she couldn’t save the forest, but she might still be able to save Seydon. </p>
<p>She knew he had lost consciousness and probably couldn’t hear her, but as she flew, Rionora said the vows she had been saving for their wedding. They probably wouldn’t be able to have the ceremony now, but she wanted to say her vows at least once before she died. She hoped that somewhere in his unconscious mind, he would hear them and remember them when he woke up.</p>
<p>As she predicted, the guards started shooting arrows as soon as they spotted her. She managed to dodge most of them, but a few hit their mark, one in her already injured left shoulder, one in her right thigh, and three in her right wing. The shots to her wing threw her flight off-balance, and she realized she would crash into the statue at the center of the village. She barely managed to turn in time to prevent Seydon from getting hurt by the impact, but in doing so she hit her head hard and everything went dark.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>There had to be some rule against this. It didn’t make any logical sense. I mean, since when did the villain save the hero from another villain? Didn’t the villains normally team up to try and finally beat the hero but ultimately fail anyway? Even if they succeeded at first, the sidekick would always show up and save the hero just in time so he could defeat the villains once and for all.</p>
<p>Ah, but she had kidnapped the sidekick this morning, so she kind of owed the hero one. He wasn’t supposed to have to fight the villain without a sidekick unless it was to save the sidekick. And besides, this villain was getting on her nerves. Just because he was her father, and just because his evil partner was her mother, they thought they could just waltz into her territory and fight her hero. NOPE. She was NOT going to stand for that. They had their own territory three states over, so they could just stay there.</p>
<p>Well, she had managed to get the hero out now, so she just had to go blow up their equipment, scramble their harddrives, get ahold of the hero from their territory via an anonymous tip so he could come catch them, and get them out of her hair for good. Good riddance.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Doran called off the guard when he saw the dragon-girl crash into the statue of Saint Frahlen. Not only was she in human form - a rare thing for a dragon to show to others since they were weaker in that form - but she had twisted awkwardly as she crashed down, almost like she was trying to protect something she was holding, but her wing had fallen over whatever it was.</p>
<p>The dragon-girl wasn’t moving, so he approached her to try and move her wing out of the way to see what she was holding despite the cries from his men to stay back until they were sure she was dead. He was shocked when he saw Seydon clutched in her arms, bleeding badly from numerous wounds with one of his legs missing. Now that she was closer, Doran realized the dragon-girl was also injured badly from more than just arrows.</p>
<p>He called for someone to get the healer while he carefully tried to release Seydon from the dragon-girl’s grip. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but getting answers had to wait for now.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It had been totally unexpected when the hero asked her to marry him. And confusing. Then again, it was Friday at 3:00, so he wasn’t the hero and she wasn’t the villain. Maybe it was okay if she said yes. She should probably postpone her plans to kidnap his sidekick until after the wedding. It wouldn’t work out well for the best man to be locked in the bride’s dungeon.</p>
<p>Oh, and the wedding had to be held on a Friday. Maybe they could have hot chocolate at the reception.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>When Seydon awoke, his first thoughts were of Rionora. The last thing he remembered was Gornash lunging toward her. He tried to get up, but hands pushed him down as Doran’s face came into view. He was saying something about not moving until the healers said he could, but Seydon had to find Rionora. He had to know if she was okay. </p>
<p>When he managed to push himself up, Doran cursed and called for someone to help him. Hanley’s figure came into view and she started yelling about how he’d open his wounds up again if he didn’t stop moving around. When her hands hit his right thigh, he finally registered the pain. It eased some when the light of Hanley’s healing magic started spilling from her fingers. </p>
<p>While the pain distracted him, Doran had managed to pin him down again, and another soldier - it might’ve been Harden - had come to help him. No matter how hard he tried, Seydon couldn’t push them off. He couldn’t give up, though. He had to find her. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It was certainly a wedding to remember. The hero - er not the hero. It was Friday - vowed to love, honor, and cherish her - and she definitely wasn’t the villain since it was Friday - and to always bring her a cup of hot chocolate. She vowed to love, honor, and cherish him, and to save him whenever he was in trouble. She had already installed a full suite with a kitchenette in her dungeon so his sidekick would be fine if it wasn’t a Friday. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Doran was at a loss. Hanley had had to use a combination of rest-inducing healing magic and herbs with a sedative effect to put Seydon to sleep so he would stop trying to get up. It was like he was a man possessed, and he wouldn’t listen to them when they told him he’d just open his wounds up if he got up now. How all of this was connected to the dragon-girl, Doran wasn’t sure, but he knew it was. </p>
<p>Speaking of the dragon-girl, Doran had somehow convinced the healers to try and do something about her wounds. He’d had to post a guard in the room, six armed soldiers, before they would go anywhere near her, but at least they did agree in the end. Despite everything he knew about dragons, something was telling him this one was trying to save Seydon, and Doran intended to return the favor.</p>
<p>Since Seydon was finally out again and Harden was helping Hanley keep an eye on him, Doran decided to pay a visit to the dragon-girl. The healers had done all they could - or maybe all they would. Doran hoped it was the former. He wasn’t particularly fond of dragons, but over the past few years of Seydon yapping at him, he’d reluctantly agreed with him that if there are good and bad humans, there are probably also good and bad dragons. Maybe this dragon-girl was one of the good ones.</p>
<p>When he arrived in the room the dragon-girl was in, he dismissed the soldiers. After ordering them to leave the third time, they finally trailed out, if hesitantly, but not without Lorne reminding him they’d be right outside and emphasizing that if ANYTHING happened, he should call them immediately. She never stopped worrying about him, but at the end of the day, she trusted his judgement. That was one of the reasons he’d married her.</p>
<p>At first the room was quiet, but after a little while, the dragon-girl started to stir. A soft moan, then her hands clenching. He was startled when she sat up quickly, but he didn’t miss the panic on her face. She looked around the room almost frantically until she spotted him. Then she sniffed the air a few times before asking if Seydon was okay.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>By the light of the most sacred moon and the breath of the most blessed wind, I vow to love you forever and to remain true to you. With the stars as witness, this I promise.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>This man had Seydon’s scent on him, and it was still strong, so he must have been with him recently. What worried her was that he also smelled of blood. She was also confused about where she was - it was inside somewhere, and she recognized some of the things as medical supplies that Seydon sometimes carried - but she would worry about herself later. Right now, Seydon was more important.</p>
<p>The man didn’t answer right away when she asked about Seydon. He raised an eyebrow first, but after grunting he did tell her he was alive. He was being looked after by a healer, and as long as he didn’t recklessly get out of bed, he’d survive. Rionora let herself relax somewhat upon hearing this. As long as Seydon was okay, nothing else mattered.</p>
<p>The human didn’t leave, nor did he attack her. He just sat quietly and observed her. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with his presence, but she didn’t sense aggression from him, so she decided to ignore him for a moment. She wanted to go see Seydon, to confirm with her own eyes that he would be okay, but she doubted the humans would let her do that. Since that was the case, she assessed her own injuries. </p>
<p>First, she slowly moved her muscles around, trying to pay attention to what areas hurt and in what ways. Her shoulder and wing were in the worst state, though like her other injuries, it seemed like someone had tried to tend to them. Aside from her wing, her wounds were wrapped in the bandages Seydon used, and she could smell medicinal herbs and the residue of human healing magic. She wasn’t sure why the humans would try to treat her, but she was grateful. Even if human healing wasn’t as effective for dragons, it still helped.</p>
<p>As she brought her wing around to better assess the damage, the human spoke up. He told her the healers had tried using healing magic on it but couldn’t get the wound to close much even compared to her other wounds, and they weren’t sure how to bandage it. She just hummed in acknowledgment. She had suspected as much. The scent of lingering magic was stronger there and human bandaging methods would be cumbersome on a dragon’s wing. She also wasn’t surprised that her wing didn’t heal as well as her other wounds. A dragon’s wings were strong, but also sensitive, and even dragon magic didn’t work well on them. They largely had to heal on their own.</p>
<p>What did surprise her was when the human asked why she had tried to save Seydon. She’d thought the humans would think she’d been the one to hurt him, or at least that she had been abducting him, but this human seemed perfectly convinced that she’d been helping him. Maybe that’s why they treated her wounds.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>As the sea joins the sky, so too does my soul join with yours. I vow to cherish this bond and nourish it through love and tender care all the days of my life. Should you pass beyond the veil to Shalvaroth, I will live with your soul in my heart until I too may join you in my time, and if I pass beyond the veil to Shalvaroth, I promise to prepare a place for when you come to join me in your time. My heart belonged to you from the moment we first met, and now my soul is yours as well.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Of all the things she could have said, Doran never would have expected the dragon-girl to say she loved Seydon. He was surprised, though, that he wasn’t really surprised. Somehow, it made sense. Love would make you do crazy things - even fly into a place you were likely to get killed to save someone else. If Seydon loved her too, it would also explain why he was so desperate to get up. </p>
<p>Well, best way to keep the lad still was to take the dragon-girl to see him. Might give her some peace of mind too. If Lorne was injured, even if somebody told him she was fine, he’d want to see her to make sure. Hanley would probably be fine with it. She’d helped scold the other healers into treating the dragon-girl afterall.</p>
<p>After a lot of effort convincing the soldiers and other healers it would be fine, Doran guided Rionora - he’d finally had the common sense to introduce himself and get her name - to Seydon’s room. He’d been a little worried about letting her walk, especially with how deep the arrow had embedded itself in her thigh, but she seemed to be doing alright. She’d tense her jaw and hiss a little here and there, but there were no signs of blood leaking through her bandages. Still, Hanley had insisted on taking a look when they arrived. Bless that woman’s heart, she didn’t seem to care that the patient was a dragon. She saw an injured person, and made it her job to fix that as best she could.</p>
<p>Rionora seemed to barely pay attention as Hanley checked her over, instead focusing on Seydon’s sleeping form. She didn’t even flinch when Hanley applied a new salve - one Doran new from experience hurt despite being effective. She did react, though, with a swiftly inhaled, hissing breath and tensing of muscles when Hanley touched her injured wing. Hanley had taken that as a cue to leave it alone for the time being.</p>
<p>About that time, Seydon stirred, starting to wake up again. Rionora was grasping his hand in an instant, and any doubt Doran might have had washed away when he saw the look in her eyes. After making sure Seydon wasn’t going to jump off the bed again, he made himself, Hanley, and Harden scarce.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Hope looked up into his eyes and vowed with her entire being to give her all to support him, to help him in both the good times and the bad times, to remain with him in sickness and in health, to fill his heart every day, and to never leave him. With this vow, she prayed he would remember her no matter what may come.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>There had been quite a bit of concern about her presence in the village at first, but with Doran, Hanley, and Seydon vouching for her, the humans grudgingly allowed Rionora to stay. She was grateful for that as she was unwilling to leave while Seydon was still recovering. She also wasn’t really sure where else she could go anyway. The grove she used to live in with Gornash would have been destroyed in the fire. The magic barrier would have been the only thing preventing the fire from destroying the entire forest. </p>
<p>The other problem was that her wing wasn’t recovering well. One of the arrows had hit a weak point, which explained why she’d lost control of her flight so badly when it was only a few arrow wounds - her wing was essentially useless now. She could move it to some degree, but it was incredibly painful, and even if she could push past the pain, she wouldn’t be able to fly. When Seydon had noticed how much pain it caused her, he’d asked how bad it was and if anything could be done to help it heal faster. At first she’d tried to brush it off, but he knew her too well, and pulled out an answer. That had led to Doran and Lorne leading a unit to search the ruins of her old glade to try and recover the items she and Gornash had stored for treating wounds. </p>
<p>Lorne had been one of the first humans after Doran and Hanley to accept her. She told Rionora that if Doran said she was a good one, she was a good one, and no one’d be able to convince her otherwise. She’d even defended Rionora a few times when some of the villagers got too vocal about their dislike of her presence for Lorne’s taste. Lorne had also asked if Rionora wanted them to do anything with Gornash’s body while they were in the glade - if there was anything in particular dragons did to remember their dead. Rionora was both touched and confused. After talking it out with Seydon, she’d finally asked them to try to bring back one of his horns. While it was hard to accept what he had done to Seydon, Gornash had still been the one to raise her, and he had been good to her. Burning his horn was a simple burial rite.</p>
<p>Besides the horn, Doran and Lorne’s party managed to retrieve the racran - a kind of magic tool used by dragons who didn’t have an innate ability to use dragon healing magic. They also found a couple of the special herbs, but most of what had been there was destroyed in the fire. What they found would help with most of her wounds, but what she really needed for her wing wasn’t among them. It was hard to accept that she might never fly again, but saving Seydon had been worth it.</p>
<p>After about one and a half months, Seydon was able to go home. Since he couldn’t really get around on his own, Rionora and Doran helped him about. She could tell it frustrated him, and she asked Doran if humans had any kind of prosthetics. When he told her they were mostly not useful for cases where so much of the leg was lost, she decided to find a way to contact Rashnor, a dragon Gornash had relied on to help treat her when she had caught dricknor as a youngling. He was incredibly talented, and she remembered seeing some of the prosthetics he’d made for injured dragons. Hopefully, he would be willing to make one for Seydon too. </p>
<p>It took about a month to reach the place Rashnor was staying without being able to fly or ride a horse - the creatures seemed to despise her on principle. She hated leaving Seydon for so long, but Doran promised to look after him, and she couldn’t send someone else, especially when she didn’t know how Rashnor felt about humans. Thankfully, he was more amenable to the idea of her loving a human than Gornash, and he agreed to help. He also took a look at her wing, but like she thought, the area that was damaged would be hard to heal without some specialized items that were particularly rare. That being the case, Rashnor flew both of them back to the village - or more to just outside the village. They both agreed that was safer.</p>
<p>Perhaps because they had started getting used to her presence, the villagers only seemed a little unsettled by Rashnor’s presence. It only took about a week for him to develop a prosthetic for Seydon, and Hanley asked him question after question about it when she saw that it not only stood in but actually connected to the nerves, allowing the wearer to use it as if it were the original limb with enough practice. There was a little bit of dragon healing magic involved, but Rashnor seemed willing to help Hanley try to imitate it with human healing magic. </p>
<p>About two weeks later, Seydon and Rionora officially made their vows to each other. Seydon had brought her to tears with his vows. Apparently, he had asked Rashnor for some lessons and had learned to say his vows in the dragon-tongue, even including the traditional vow of binding that dragon’s included in every wedding ceremony. She would have loved his vows anyway - they were beautiful - but the extra mile he went to made them even more wonderful.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Risa refused to give up. Even if she was trapped, even if there was virtually no chance of escaping, she still had to try. She looked at the woman casually sipping tea after burning her vows. She looked at the teapot.</p>
<p>Well, it was pretty much the only option.</p>
<p>She picked up the teapot and smashed it against the ground.</p>
<p>“What are you doing?” The woman yelled and laughed all at once. “That was a nice teapot! And it won’t help you anyway.”</p>
<p>Risa picked up the largest, sharpest shard she could find and walked to the door. “I still have to try.”</p>
<p>She cut her hand a few times while vainly sawing at the thick wooden door. Even if she made it through that, she had been told there were other barriers, but still.</p>
<p>“Do what you will.” The woman shrugged. “It is only a matter of time.”</p>
<p>Risa rounded on the woman. “Time for what? Time for him to find that I’m not at the wedding and think something happened? Time for his family to tell him they were right about me all along? Time for someone to discover you’re not there either?” She laughed bitterly. “Do you really think that he’ll marry you after this?”</p>
<p>“Oh, I’ve given up on that.” The woman replied, a sneer in her voice. “I just don’t want him to marry you either.”</p>
<p>“Why?” Risa had tears streaming down her face at this point. “Why?”</p>
<p>The woman looked at her pointedly. “I never loved him. I needed him. What he has. And I almost had it. He - his assets - were mine. Then you walked in and took what was mine.” The woman stood up from her place on the sofa and approached Risa. “I don’t like it when people take my things.”</p>
<p>“Your things.” Risa muttered. “What was yours? And what exactly did I take?” She dropped the shard of teapot that she had been holding and clenched her bleeding fist. “He told me once that he wanted to give you the money if it would just send you away, but his parents wouldn’t let him. They were too proud. They also approved of you where they didn’t approve of me, just because I come from a poor background.”</p>
<p>“And?” The woman questioned, walking back to sit on the sofa again.</p>
<p>“And what?!” Risa screamed. It was a desperate, lonely scream. “He asked me to run away with him, you know. But I couldn’t do that because I didn’t want to get in between him and his family. I worked hard to get them to at least approve of the wedding because I knew he would always regret it if they didn’t. And now this.”</p>
<p>“All the hard work for a love that was doomed from the start.” The woman mused. “You know, I never have understood it. You had to know that something was going to get in the way.”</p>
<p>Risa sighed and tore a scrap of cloth off her wedding dress - it was tea- and blood-stained now anyway - and used it to bandage her bleeding hands. “We would have found a way.”</p>
<p>“Ah, so it’s the ‘love conquers all’ argument then.” The woman laughed. “If that’s the case, then shouldn’t you be sitting prettily on the sofa and waiting for your handsome knight to come swooping in to save you?”</p>
<p>Risa glared at the woman. “I don’t expect you’ve made that possible.”</p>
<p>“Well, that’s true.” The woman replied. “So you do have some sense.” She stretched out on the sofa like a satisfied cat. “I may have sent a little present to the wedding - some suggestions for his parents. They’ll keep him busy until you can be spirited away somewhere.”</p>
<p>Risa nodded grimly. She thought as much.</p>
<p>“Risa!” She heard a voice shouting from the other side of the door - his voice.</p>
<p>“Lionel!” She shouted back, running to the door.</p>
<p>“Risa! I vow to love, honor and cherish you all the days of my life. I vow to love you and only you, to be with you in sickness and in health, to go through every storm together. I vow to make you the happiest woman alive. I vow that I am yours, now and forever.”</p>
<p>Risa felt tears streaming down her face as she shouted her vows through the door. “Lionel, I vow to love you now and forever, to honor and cherish all that you are, to love you for you. I vow that no matter how far apart we are physically, I will always be with you in your heart. I vow to give you all that I am and ask for nothing in return. I vow to be wholly yours forever and for always.”</p>
<p>“Well, this is a little unorthodox, but it does count.” Another voice drifted through the door. “By the power vested in me by the Church and the State, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Once you get that door open, you may kiss the bride.”</p>
<p>Risa could hardly believe her ears. Lionel had actually managed to drag the priest here!</p>
<p>“That’s not a very wise decision.” The woman who had orchestrated all of this calmly shouted through the door.</p>
<p>Risa hadn’t thought it was possible to shout calmly before this moment. Now she knew better. And she was frightened. The woman had come up behind Risa while she was shouting her vows through the door and pulled a knife.</p>
<p>In a fair fight, Risa would never lose to this woman, but this wasn’t a fair fight.</p>
<p>“The moment you break this door down,” the woman shouted to Lionel, “is the moment your wedding day becomes a funeral.”</p>
<p>“Fiona! Don’t you dare! If you touch a single hair on her head, you will regret it.” Lionel shouted back.</p>
<p>“Aiyah, but I’ve already come this far.” The woman pressed the knife against Risa’s throat.</p>
<p>Realization dawned on Risa. She had indeed come this far already. Why threaten to kill her only after the door was opened? Lionel was going to be angry with her either way. Yes, it would be worse if she died, but…</p>
<p>“What are you after now?” Risa questioned.</p>
<p>The woman laughed. “Well, you do have brains.” She pressed a little harder with the knife, drawing a bit of blood.</p>
<p>“Risa! What’s happening?” Lionel shouted through the door.</p>
<p>“She just wants to talk.” Risa lied. “There aren’t any weapons in here for her to hurt me with.”</p>
<p>“Take that back.” The woman pressed with the knife, shifting the angle a bit so it dug into a different part of Risa’s neck than before.</p>
<p>“Never.” Risa spat. </p>
<p>This woman was horrible, but she wasn’t actually trying to kill Risa. In fact, she seemed to need Risa alive, which meant Risa had the upper hand - and she was going to use it.</p>
<p>Risa stepped on the woman’s foot. Hard. At the same time, she elbowed the woman in the gut. The woman grunted in pain and shifted. The knife came dangerously close to actually doing irreparable damage to Risa’s throat, but the woman moved it away just in time, giving Risa the opening she needed. The rest was a simple matter of martial arts - something Risa excelled in. Soon, the woman was on the ground with Risa pinning her down and the knife shot across the floor and out of reach.</p>
<p>About that time, the door burst open and Risa spotted Lionel and about a hundred other men and women - including the priest, the wedding party (even his disgruntled parents), and several mages who had probably been breaking the magical barriers. There were also several unconscious bodies on the ground - probably the guards that woman had hired just in case.</p>
<p>“Risa!” Lionel sprinted to her side, knelt down, and kissed her before gathering her up in his arms and letting some of the wedding guests take over custody of the woman who had tried to part them.</p>
<p>The priest chuckled. “Well, this is certainly the most unique wedding I have ever officiated.”</p>
<p>*** </p>
<p>Ten minutes after finding the note under the willow, Peppa and Whims pulled up to the Sugar Shack. The Sugar Shack was well-known in their little hometown; it also boasted of being the best ice cream for 20 miles. It was true, but it was also the only ice cream place for miles.</p>
<p>Whims kicked Peppa out of the car. </p>
<p>“This guy wants to see you, not your older brother,” he stated emphatically, literally unbuckling her seatbelt and gently pushing her towards the car door. </p>
<p>Peppa left the car, knees shaking slightly, her gait unsteady and hands trembling. She still held the note in her hand as she walked through the door. </p>
<p>Someone raised a hand waving to her. She couldn’t make out who it was because there were so many people on a date or with their families. Peppa walked towards the waving hand. She still couldn’t see the person waving, but that seemed intentional somehow. She got past the last group of people and it was him! It was the boy!</p>
<p>Peppa saw red and opened her mouth to unleash on him. But he interrupted her.</p>
<p>“Hi, I’m James. I accidentally kidnapped your pages?” He had stood up and offered me a seat. He threw me off guard. </p>
<p>And that is how I met James and why he vowed to never create me another scavenger hunt again.</p>
<p>The END</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>L: /prior to reading and directed at S:/ “By the way, I didn’t kill either of them. It just sort of looks like I might.”<br/>A moment later, L: “I did kill the father-figure though.”<br/>S: “meh. /nonchalantly and with a half-shrug of the left shoulder/”</p>
<p>C: “Oh, this is the one I thought had demons.”<br/>L: “are you saying you were saying you thought the other one had demons and you were mixing them up this whole time?!”<br/>C: “Now I’m not sure.”<br/>S: “C-ee is cun-fus-zed (confused).”<br/>L: “L-ee is ano-oyed (annoyed with glottal stop in the middle).”</p>
<p>S: You have make sure to type it the way I said it.<br/>L: Me too.<br/>S: Yeah, ‘cause she had a glottal stop in “annoyed.”</p>
<p>L: “I promise you. She’s NOT DEAD!”<br/>S: “Ahem, spoiler alert. Methinks she (L:) is trying to avoid having the wife-killer title stuck to her permanently.”</p>
<p>L: What was I adding?<br/>C: That.<br/>L: /immediately rushes to type/ That.</p>
<p>S: I love that she has multi-stepped plans to prevent anyone from realizing that she’s helping the hero. And that she thinks she’s only fighting these villains because she’s being territorial.<br/>L: Yeah, I love this character.<br/>S: /agrees then continues/ This puts you back one step further from ‘wife killer.’ One.</p>
<p>“Why does Google Docs think ‘salve’ should be ‘slave’?”</p>
<p>S: /makes several emphatic points/<br/>L: /pouts dramatically in refutation/<br/>C: “I thought it was about death.”<br/>L: /pouts even more as she thinks ‘they totally missed my metaphor.’/<br/>S: “This is what you do to us! /aside/ Admittedly it’s not all your fault. /back at full volume/ But see!”<br/>C: /laughing hysterically/<br/>L: Harumph /continues pouting/</p>
<p> </p>
<p>S: “You (L:) asked us if we ship them and we don’t know any of the backstory!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>L: “This is where I started to lose control of the story, but I couldn’t get it back.”<br/>S: “I thought you lost control earlier.”<br/>L: “I did, but I got it back temporarily. This time I really lost it.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. November Redacted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is the complete story redacted. Date labels are still with their respective writing days. Enjoy seeing what we inflicted upon each other!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<h3>
  <strong>1 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Sulani loved her fiancé dearly, but he sometimes got on her nerves. ____________________________</p><p>______________</p><p>“Braxon, I know you love Rivers Beyond Time, but could you tell me about it later?” Her words sounded harsher than she intended, but, at the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care. ______________</p><p>“Oh, sorry, Lani.” He leaned over her shoulder and she scrambled to hide the papers she was continuously scribbling on then scratching out what she had written. “______________” </p><p>“My vows.” She pushed the pages into the desk drawer. “No peeking.”</p><p>“Okay.” He raised his hands up as if in surrender and whispered in her ear. “I won’t peek, vashana.” ______________She couldn’t stay frustrated with him when he used her pet name.</p><p>It used to annoy her. He would rarely call her by name, more often calling her “vashana” when she didn’t know what it meant. Of course, it didn’t help that it was usually accompanied by a fireball…</p><p>____________________________ Now she knew that vashana was a term from the old Criaki language developed by the writer of the Rivers Beyond Time series that Braxon was obsessed with. She had always assumed it was some kind of derisive term that meant “idiot,” but it actually meant “burning heart.”</p><p>That gave her an idea.</p><p>“Go over there.” She instructed Braxon, shoving him toward the couch before returning swiftly to the desk and pulling the papers out again and beginning to write.</p><p>Ever since the first day you threw a fireball at me…</p><p>No… she scribbled the line out.</p><p>My heart burns for you.</p><p>She circled the line and made a note to include it somewhere. ____________________________she also circled the part about fireballs and made the note ‘incorporate’ beside it. She glanced up at Braxon who was being unusually dutifully silent and saw him reading Rivers Beyond Time: The River’s Mouth. </p><p>Figures. </p><p>He had just finished rereading the series and now he was on the first one again. Well, it was part of what endeared him to her. Oh! Maybe…</p><p>Maybe she should actually read the series for the declaration of love she knows is in there. Braxon rhapsodizes about it constantly in preparation for the wedding in a month. They both agreed on a fire-element represented wedding, because how else does a fire-elemental and a mage-sorceress get married? Water? ‘Ooh, that’s another reference to put in-steam!’ Sulani scribbled some more on her vows paper. </p><p>Braxon __________________________________________. His vows were simple and sweet. She had already forbade him from using any declarations of love from the Rivers Beyond Time series. He had been writing his vows ever since she began to let him call her vashana. He knew he was in love with Sulani, long before she tolerated him. Although Sulani thought he was rereading River’s Mouth, he was rereading his vows written on a bookmark tucked in his favorite book. </p><p>His vows read: “My darling vashana, I vow to you today and evermore that my fire is your fire. I will support, love, honor, and cherish you for as long as we both exist. I will put no other before you. I will help you in your battles and defend you before all others. You are my heart and my fire doesn’t exist without you.”</p><p>Braxon didn’t think that Sulani would be impressed with adding any anecdotes from their earlier adventures. She really thought he was annoying back then.</p><p>It had never been intentional,______________ to annoy her, but he struggled to control his fire element at the beginning, and even when he got it under control, she could make him so flustered that fireballs flew everywhere. ______________________________________________________________________He was too embarrassed to explain that he shot fireballs at her because he liked her.</p><p>The little sounds of frustration and satisfaction Sulani made as she furiously scribbled drew Braxon into a memory of the time they first met. He had been dragged along by his little sister Brilla - a prodigious frost elemental who everyone unceasingly compared him to - to join a group of adventurers recruiting additional members to enter the dungeon that had recently been discovered.</p><p>Upon arriving at the designated meeting location, Braxon’s saw a girl sitting on the edge of the fountain, scribbling furiously on a scrap of parchment. Magic energy pulsed dangerously around her when her forehead crinkled in frustration, yet, when a satisfied smirk settled on her lips, the pulsing changed. Instead of dangerous, it felt strong and controlled - a force to be reckoned with. </p><p>_____</p><p>Braxon was pulled out of his memories by a frustrated Sulani scrunching up a wad of paper and tossing it unceremoniously toward the ashtray, muttering a quick incantation, and lighting it on fire.</p><p>______________Sulani had much greater control over her magic now, and it was just like her to turn the paper to ashes ______________________________________________________________________not that anyone but her could make sense of the ciphers she habitually wrote in.</p><p>_____Braxon was confident that Sulani was overthinking her vows, and it was getting to her. ________________________________________________________</p><p>__________________________________________</p><p>Sulani turned to look at him from her place at the desk, a lopsided grin spreading across her face. “Even if I write ‘I vow to love you from one ocean to the next?”</p><p>Braxon gasped in mock horror. ______________</p><p> </p><p>______________ Sulani grinned a devilish grin that -__________________________________________ On Sulani,____________________________ That devilish grin meant she was finally relaxing and having fun.</p><p>“Then I shall vow to love you in the Ancient Swampland!” He retorted, trying to sound at least a little serious and failing miserably as he laughed through the last half of his sentence.</p><p>“The horror!” Sulani humored him, playing along. Then she paused and started waving her hand about in that way that meant she had an idea, and she turned back to the desk, scribbling something down.</p><p>From ocean to ocean, and even in the Ancient Swampland…</p><p>It could use some work. </p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>2 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Tootsie was classy. Classy enough that he spent days thinking up the best way to propose to her. And even then, he fumbled the ring and stuttered throughout it. His fiancée is amazing, so his vows to her had to be as amazing as she is. Amazing doesn’t happen in a paragraph! His words need to be so magnificent, so amazing that--</p><p>“Brian? Son, what are you still doing up?” Brian’s father asked, his large frame in the office doorway.</p><p>“I had the greatest idea to include in my vows to Tootsie that I just had to write it down. Then, I couldn’t go to sleep,” Brian______________.</p><p> “Son, if you weren’t so gone on that girl, her parents would not have approved your courtship and offer of marriage,” his father gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Calm down a little, would ya? I’ve been married to your mama for forty years and I didn’t write a page long of vows. You’re making me look bad,” he said with a chuckle. </p><p>Brian chuckled along with his father and removed himself to his bedroom. He couldn’t wait to make Tootsie his wife. If only her parents hadn’t said that she couldn’t be married before they both were twenty. ____________________________ Tootsie ______________.</p><p> </p><p>Tootsie was arguing with her mother again. About Brian, again. She was tired of telling her mother that she was in love with Brian and no other man, especially a rich one, would ever bridge that gap for her. </p><p>“I am not you, Mother! I will not be arranged in a loveless marriage!” Tootsie glared down at her mother who was sitting placidly in the front parlor of their home. “Why would you agree to the engagement between Brian and I if you keep pestering me to break it off?”</p><p>“I want you to be happy, dahling,” her mother waved her hand around. “Love does not always bring happiness.”</p><p>“I know. Brian and I have had arguments before,” Tootsie replied sullenly. </p><p>“And were those arguments trivial things____________________________?”</p><p>“______________ I’ll not tell you anymore because those matters were between my fiancé and I, not you and Father.”</p><p>“____________________________. You need to be rested to meet the Penningtons in the morning.”</p><p>“Who are the Penningtons again?”</p><p>“One of Father’s friends from university dahling,” her mother paused, and waved her up the staircase. “Go on now, bed.”</p><p>Tootsie had a bad feeling that the Penningtons had a son.</p><p>At about five o’clock in the morning -____________________________ - Tootsie quietly slipped out of the house through the servant’s entrance - the one place she knew her mother would never look for her. She made her way across the long green lawn, white picket fence, and small thicket that separated her home from Brian’s - and the upper-class district from the lower one in her mother’s eyes despite the fact that her exceedingly wealthy grandfather also lived “across the thicket.”</p><p>______________</p><p>At the sound of her tossing small pebbles against the window, Brian quickly opened it and looked out.</p><p>“Tootsie!” ____________________________. “What’s wrong? It’s been a whole month since you last snuck over here before the sun was up.”</p><p>“My mother.” Was all Tootsie said as she climbed in through the window looking as graceful as an Elf doing a waltz the entire time - _____ Brian ______________</p><p>__________________________________________ “I see you have cleaned since I was here last.”</p><p>The lilt in her beautiful voice let Brian know she was teasing.</p><p>“Of course.” He puffed his chest out. “Practicing for when it really matters.” He winked.</p><p>Tootsie blushed madly ____________________________ Looking quickly away to hide her embarrassment, her eyes drifted to Brian’s nightstand which, ____________________________ was covered in drafts of his wedding vows.</p><p>“Don’t look, sweetheart! I want them to be a surprise next year when we finally marry,” Brian implored her, turning her away with a hug.</p><p>The hug seemed to last longer than Brian was anticipating, not that it was a hardship to hold Tootsie, but society does dictate moral standards of how long to hold your fiancée without a chaperone present. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Why were you and your mother arguing this time?”</p><p>Tootsie__________________________________________. Brian __________________________________________. </p><p>“Mother wants me to break the engagement and find a wealthier man.”</p><p>Brain gazed into Tootsie’s eyes, his arms loosely held around her. “She doesn’t know about my trust does she?”</p><p>“No, and I refuse to tell her!” Tootsie glared at the implications his question brought up. “She keeps framing it like it is both her and Father that want me to break the engagement, but Father has not once talked to me about it. I don’t know what he’s thinking,” Tootsie ended, leaning her head on his shoulder. </p><p>“Have you tried asking him?” Brian gently smoothed Tootsie’s hair down. “Maybe he’ll surprise you in a good way.”</p><p>“But what if he doesn’t?” Tootsie pulled back and looked at him, face crinkled with worry lines.</p><p>“Then we cross that bridge when we get to it.” Brian pulled Tootsie back into a hug. Social propriety didn’t and shouldn’t take priority over making sure Tootsie felt safe and happy. </p><p>____________________________Tootise pulled back to look at him. “But I am not going back until the Pennington’s leave.”</p><p>Brian chuckled.</p><p>“______________ Tootsie, ______________”</p><p>Much more relaxed now, Tootsie stretched her arms and yawned. She had, after all, woken up quite early.</p><p>“Time for a nap?” Brian asked with a laugh.</p><p>Playfully punching him in the arm, Tootsie chided, “________________________________________________________</p><p>In a voice that told her he was half joking and half serious, he replied, “A______________”</p><p>Tootsie ____________________________</p><p>“Brian!”</p><p>“______________” He held his hands up in surrender. “I was just thinking of going to the office anyway.” He grabbed the papers from the desk. “You nap, and I’ll go do some writing.”</p><p>Tootsie woke up from her nap and the sun was high in the sky. Brain ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ She smiled, a warmth built in her chest when she thought of how thoughtful and caring her fiancé was. Then how high the sun was caught her attention. She looked for the clock on Brian’s wall. It was one in the afternoon! She drastically overslept. But at least she missed the Penningtons.</p><p>Tootsie flung the blanket back and remade Brain’s bed. She opened his closet door where she knew he put a full-length mirror in just for her and made herself presentable to sneak out of her fiancé’s house. Tootsie creeped out Brian’s door. Looking furtively around, she made her way quietly down the stairs and past the office to go out the side door. She didn’t see anyone on her way out and gave a loud sigh of relief once she was past the porch. </p><p>“Bye Tootise! I’ll visit with you next time, alright?” Brian’s mother called out, freezing Tootsie in her tracks. </p><p>Tootsie turned slightly and gave a wave back to Mrs. Johanssing and plotted what excuse to give her mother about why she missed the Penningtons. </p><p>“Tootsie Maribelle Andrestin, where in the Lord’s good green earth have you been?!” Right on cue, her mother’s angry shout demanded an answer. Her father, meanwhile, barely looked up from the book he was reading as he sat on the porch swing.</p><p>“I went for a stroll early this morning and decided to take a nap before coming back.” ____________________________</p><p>“______________________________________________________________________”</p><p>“Well, I’m sure she meant to be home on time.” Her father looked up from his book. “__________________________________________”</p><p>Tootsie’s mother seemed reluctant to relinquish an opportunity to scold Tootsie, but she nonetheless turned on her heel and marched into the house with a “we’ll speak later.”</p><p>Tootsie’s father sighed once her mother had gone into the house and motioned for Tootsie to sit beside him on the porch. “Now, dear girl, you and I both know your mother means well, but that doesn’t always mean she does well, does it?” He gave Tootsie a knowing look.</p><p>She nodded slightly, not sure if she was really supposed to agree with him or not. She had never spoken much with her father - __________________________________________________________________________________________________this might be the most words he had ever said to her in one meeting.</p><p>And if that were strange enough, he continued. “Well, I hope Brian and his family were well this morning.”</p><p>“I don’t know what you mean,” she bluffed, hoping the burning in her face didn’t show through her dark complexion.</p><p>Father just looked at her. “Tootsie, I know every time you leave this house. I also know every time you arrive safely at the Johanssing’s house. I am the one that pushed your mother to accept your engagement and I am the one that knows how well off Brian will be next year when you marry.” There was a brief pause. “I was his grandfather’s lawyer and am executor of his will that left everything to Brian.” Father’s mild tone caught Tootsie off guard. </p><p>“______________” ______________ Tootsie’s______________.</p><p>“Everything about your fiancé, yes.” He looked at his daughter for a moment. “But clearly not everything that is going on in this house since Brian proposed. Please tell me.”</p><p>Her father’s gentle tone calmed her and made her cry all at once. Tootsie __________________________________________Tootsie ________________________________________________________ she thought Mother was going to trap her into looking unfaithful to Brian. Brian, the man that Tootsie had been looking at with stars in her eyes since she first saw him at fifteen. His dark curly hair, his bright shining eyes, his long limbs that he hadn’t quite grown into yet. __________________________________________r. She was afraid of what Mother would do.</p><p>Tootsie didn’t see it, but her father was growing more enraged with every word and tear that tumbled from his beloved only child’s lips. He gently moved to hold his daughter in his arms and soothed her. He barely remembered the last hug he gave her and vowed to himself that he would display affection to his beautiful, wonderful, loving daughter more often. Damn what his wife thought of displays of affection. </p><p>When Tootsie had completely calmed down, her father gently hugged her tightly once more and ushered her into the library. He also told her to avoid the area around his study for a while. He didn’t want for her to overhear a long overdue reckoning with her mother. </p><p>Tootsie made her way to the library. She ambled through the familiar aisles of tall shelves. She plucked her favorite story, a romance, from it’s spot and curled up in the loveseat next to the window. The afternoon light was perfect for reading and the book opened to the best part of the story: when the couple were exchanging their vows. They were so heartfelt and sweet. Tootsie knew she wanted her vows to be like that, but could never seem to find the words.<br/>
3 November 2020</p><p>____________________________________________________________________________________Mellanisia, ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mellanisia.’</p><p>Reading Rungaurd’s declaration of his love for Mellanisia inspired Tootsie to try writing her vows for Brian again.</p><p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>It wasn’t everything she wanted to say, but somehow Tootsie knew Brian would understand.</p><p>***</p><p>Hiro stood at the end of the aisle, waiting. His goofy smile and fancy outfit would have looked silly on anyone else, but on him… Villena would go so far as to call it charming.</p><p>She took a deep breath as the theme song that was her wedding march began to play and took her first step into the room. For the thousandth time, she rehearsed her vows in her mind - chanting them like a mantra to calm herself.</p><p>When we first met, I wanted to kill you. Now, I cannot imagine my life without you. You are mine, and I will never let you go. I have entrusted my heart to you, so keep it well. For all eternity, we shall be together, and nothing may sunder the bond we seal today. </p><p>Hiro laughed out loud in joy when Villena stated she had wanted to kill him. He heard that every day after she had kidnapped him for ransom. He had quickly escaped several times, but she had intrigued him and so he returned before she knew he was missing.</p><p>______________________________________________________________________ she had only done so out of desperation, and while she threatened to kill him every other time he opened his mouth, she had made sure to feed him as properly as she could and even freed him when a group of bandits attacked her camp instead of abandoning him to their mercy and escaping on her own.</p><p>It was right around the time Villena realized she wasn’t getting the ransom (on account of Hiro having already told his mother that he was fine and his father not caring either way) that she had decided to let him go once and for all. That was also the day he proposed… the first time.</p><p>It took time and persistence for Hiro to convince Villena to marry him. And his vows would list all the ways he loved her, many more than Villena ever thought of him. </p><p>“I love you for your fiery spirit that hated my guts from the first moment we met. I love that fiery spirit for keeping you alive and helping you find happiness. I love that fiery spirit for learning to love me.</p><p>“I love the way you chew me out when I mess up, and I love the way you encourage me when I’m down. I love the way you laugh when you are amused and your lopsided grin when you're proud of something you accomplished.</p><p>“I love the way you tie your hair back in a ponytail when you’re nervous, and how you let your hair fly free on the wind when you're confident.</p><p>“I love the way you blush when you think I’m not looking, and I love the way everything you say is sweet even when it sounds mean at the surface.</p><p>“I love that you know your name comes from Village Queen and not Villain, and I love that you do in fact have the bearing of a queen though you don’t realize it yourself.</p><p>“I love that you’re probably madly embarrassed by me saying all these wonderful things about you in front of everyone here, and I love that you’ll probably express your embarrassment by telling me to shut up and die.</p><p>“I love that when you say ‘shut up and die’ it really means ‘I love you,’ and I love that you only say that to me.</p><p>“I love you, Villena, now and forever, and I love that you love me too.”</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>4 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>“Speak now or forever hold your peace,” is a line that many people who attend a wedding tend to ignore and nose their way into a newlywed’s marriage. ‘______________’ Ila __________________________________________ I don’t want anyone commenting on my husband’s supposed faults. I honor my vows and will continue to do so until I die,’ her thoughts __________________________________________</p><p>Ila was tired of the gossip mill in this town. They outright ignored her and badmouthed a man they hadn’t seen in three years. Josiah had been run out of town____________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>The headline for the paper on September 1, 1956 read: “Josiah Baker is a witch.” Ila had been baffled for a minute then started laughing uproariously when she had read that headline. Josiah was a simple man-he had God, his family, and his job. Those were his priorities. Not witchcraft. Ila hadn’t been laughing when the mob outside almost burned the house and her adorable children up. She hadn’t been laughing when Josiah couldn’t honor part of his vows to stay with her. She couldn’t leave. </p><p>The town with it’s malicious gossip wouldn’t let her leave. They refused to let her put the house for sale. They refused to let her go past the town border unless she had dropped a rumor that she was visiting family out of town. She wasn’t allowed to honor her long list of vows she made to her beloved Josiah. Ila was furious at this town and it’s people. </p><p>***</p><p>It was a quiet ceremony with only the priest, Nalan, and Riala. The church was old and worn, but it still served as God’s house for the few people who ventured so far into the lonely mountains. </p><p>Riala wished she could have married Nalan with their family and friends gathered around them. Aunt Marena would have sobbed when Nalan gave his vows to Riala. They were beautiful, and Riala could still hear them echoing in their mind.</p><p>Riala, ____________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>______________</p><p>____________________________</p><p>__________________________________________</p><p>______________________________________________________________________</p><p>______________________________________________________________________</p><p>______________</p><p>And at the last word he had placed his hand over his heart and knelt before her in the Sinalian symbol of deep loyalty. Then he had risen to his feet and placed a chaste kiss on her lips whispering in her ear the most important words of all:</p><p>I love you, Riala.</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>5 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Fire and that element’s colors surrounded the happy couple and their families as they shared their sacred union. One of the things that Braxon didn’t know was that Sulani asked their wedding priestess to let her say her vows last. Sulani knew that Braxon’s vows were going to be heartfelt and wonderful, but she wanted to tell him how much he meant to her. </p><p>Sulani was nervous. She didn’t know how long her vows actually were at this point...but they were long. </p><p>Braxon held her hands and spoke, “__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.” A tear fell from Braxon’s eye and Sulani reached up and wiped it away with a smile. They smiled lovingly at each other for a moment. A moment too long because the priestess waved a hand to direct Sulani say her vows.</p><p>Sulani breathed deep and pulled the pages of her vows from where she left them resting in her desk. She straightened the pages out, read the first line to herself, and looked directly into her soon-to-be husband’s eyes. She spoke her vows with conviction and meaning. </p><p>“From ocean to ocean, and even in the Ancient Swampland, my heart burns for you. It is what you have called me early into our friendship, vashana, burning heart. And that is what my heart does for you. Our love is friendship on fire and you knew that long before I did. Apparently, all of your friends did too. Ever since the first day you threw a fireball at me, we were meant to be.”</p><p>Braxon squeezed her hand, the one that he made sure he had a hold of as she began speaking her vows to him. </p><p>She paused to smile brightly at him and continued, “I, of course, had immediately thrown water back at the fireball and then we created steam. A most wonderful outcome and another thing with us akin to love. Love cannot be seen, but it can be felt. Love is all around us. It is in the fire and magic that we can wield. It is in lives with our friends and our families. It is in the way we were meant to be, like ____________________________________________________________________________________” </p><p>Everyone laughed at this comment. ____________________________ Braxon ______________ series ______________ kept rereading them to pieces. He even cried during a quest when they had to flee an area quickly and his copy of the newest book in the series had been left behind somehow.<br/>
Sulani waited for the laughter to die down before she finished her thought. “Your obsession with Rivers Beyond Time and my enduring tolerance for that obsession and my willingness to keep repairing your books, just to make you smile.” </p><p>Sulani ____________________________________________________________________________________ Braxon ____________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>“I know you will alway have my back, and when it really counts, you will always be there, and I love you for that adamant refusal to leave me alone. If I am your vashana, you are my ransevi ali.”</p><p>As she hoped, Braxton’s eyes gleamed with joy as she said the Criaki phrase which roughly translates to ‘soul’s light’ - she had spent hours researching to find that term.</p><p>“The greatest light in my life,” she continued, trying not to cry too much, “and the greatest comfort has always been and will always be you. It was you who showed me a way out of the darkness that I had been caught in, you who helped me refine magic control - largely because I had to keep stopping you from setting the world on fire around me -“ She paused as Braxton interjected with an ‘I couldn’t help it’ kind of shrug, “and it was you who taught me what love really means.”</p><p>______________ Sulani ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________And she decided to finish because Braxon deserved it. He deserved hearing exactly how precious and wonderful he is and everyone that knows them deserves to hear why Braxon is so perfect to her.</p><p>“Love is ever-patient and forgiving, even after burning my favorite shirt twice. Love is kind, as you have always been and continue to show me how to be. Love is not envious or jealous, though I have envied your unending capacity to love anything and everything around us. Even the dog that you keep swearing followed you home one day. That dog hates me, but I love it because you love it. Love is not loud; it is in every action that you do and I recognize and see your love in everything you ask me to try. By the way, I’m on page 53 of book two.”</p><p>Braxon’s ______________ Sulani ______________________________________________________________________.</p><p>“I know I promised to never read it, but I started it and I understand you a little bit better now. And I love you all the more for it,” she smiled at him, wide and lovingly. She then had to glance at her pages to remember where she left off in her vows. “I’m at…” she muttered quietly, earning herself a chuckle from both Braxon and the priestess. </p><p>“Love is not proud, you have done some crazy things for me that I won’t tell here because I promised you your mother will never find out about them. Love is not rude, although your fireballs were. Love does not look to gain, but looks to be. Love is protection through the good and the bad. Love is the truth and the bedrock of life. And love is a long flame that I never want to lose.” </p><p>Sulani felt the air starting to heat up around her in the tell-tale signs of a fireball starting to form. Somehow it was comforting to know she could still affect Braxon like that. She took a moment to mutter a quick incantation to keep the fireball from causing any real damage.</p><p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Love is helping each other to grow such as how your constant immolation of things around me made me a better magician. Thanks to you I am a veritable expert in controlling water and flames.”</p><p>Sulani’s vows went on like this for hours, and Braxton loved every minute of it. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>6 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Ila wrote down her and Josiah’s vows. His were simple, ____________________________________________________________________________________. </p><p>Their oldest, a bright-eyed little boy loved to hear what Mommy promised Daddy. Ila would retrieve the carefully framed pages, all six of them, and help her son read what she wrote six years ago. Little Nathaniel had most of the first page memorized because of how often they read them together. Nathaniel not only learned how to read with the Bible, but also the beautiful curves of Ila’s promise to God and Josiah for her marriage. </p><p>“______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>“I promise that as we are bound today by God’s holy words, we shall be forever two in one, inseparable no matter how great the earthly distance between us may seem. I promise I will always be as close to you as your breath when it hits your hand as you hold it before your face. I promise we will forever look up into the night sky and see the same moon. I promise that my heart and soul will always accompany you even when my body cannot. I promise that if I die before you, I will prepare a place for you in heaven and wait for you to join me. I promise that if you die before me, I will still remain faithful to you and will one day rejoin you at your side.</p>
<h3>
  <strong>7 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Tootsie’s father found her scratching something out furiously at the desk. </p><p>“What did that writing ever do to you?” ____________________________.</p><p>“What? Oh,” Tootsie relaxed, startled from her deep concentration on her vows. “____________________________I know Brian has his pretty much done already. I want to get mine close to finished so that I don’t have to worry about them anymore.” She craned her head back to look at him. </p><p>He chuckled and patted her head. “Tootsie, you’ll worry about them every second until your wedding day, even if you finish them now.” He smiled gently. “Do they sound good? Do they really say what I want to say? But on your wedding day, when you’re standing at the altar holding each other’s hands, even if you haven’t written a single word of your vows before then, you’ll know what to say.”</p><p>Tootsie smiled back at her father. “I had them done.” She laughed. “______________ Brian __________________________________________but then I thought of something to add last night, and I decided to try it.” She looked down at the scratched out text on her desk and sighed. ______________</p><p>____________________________________________________________________________________Brian -____________________________</p><p>Tootsie sighed.______________</p><p>______________</p><p> </p><p>“The cat ate them.”</p><p>Tootsie’s father laughed. ______________</p><p>Tootsie____________________________. “No, really. I had put the vows I had already written and some paper on the desk, and then Music came in, and I didn’t think anything of it until I realized he was in one of those moods, and he had launched himself onto the desk and was clawing at the papers, and then as if in protest of me trying to pick him up, he stuffed the vows in his mouth.”</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>8 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Father was laughing so hard he was wheezing. “Goes to show that Music is indeed your mother’s cat,” he panted, still laughing weakly.</p><p>Tootsie’s chuckle had joined in. “Just my luck, right? Mother interfering with my engagement and her cat shreds my vows. C’est la vie, no?”</p><p>Tootsie saw her father straighten up, face serious-looking, “Your mother will no longer interfere. I can’t help with Music, he’s a force of nature.”</p><p>Tootsie leaned into Father for a hug. She just remembered why she enjoyed his hugs. She doesn’t want him to stop again. Hugs are one reason why she knows her fiancé will be a wonderful father. </p><p>***</p><p>Tears dripped down Ren’s face in never-ending rivers of grief as he held Lana’s cold hand.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>______________</p><p>It was supposed to be a happy day. The tears were supposed to be full of joy, not grief. Vows meant for the wedding day would now become a eulogy.</p><p>Her last words echoed in his mind:</p><p>I vow to love you forever, even in death.</p><p>Ren choked back a sob and placed a chaste kiss on Lana’s cold forehead. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Lana ____________________________was still loving him - her death could not end that. And he still loved Lana as well.</p><p>“For all time, I will love you.” He spoke his vows in the silent room, knowing Lana would be listening from heaven. “I will cherish you and hold you in my heart even should death part us momentarily.” __________________________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>____________________________“I will honor you, treasure you, and cherish you all the days of my life, and all the days after I have passed from this life to the next.”______________this had been the end of the vows he had written, but there was something more he needed to say. </p><p>He just had to find the words.</p><p>Ren thought back to how he and Lana met. It was a joyous occasion, he had just been declared a mage-knight and pledged his fealty to his sovereign. Lana had come as a Lady-in-waiting to his sovereign queen. He looked up from kneeling and was lost in Lana’s eyes. She later told him he looked like he had been hit repeatedly in the face to be so dazed by her appearance. </p><p>They were formally introduced at the feast and Ren was not as twitterpated by Lana’s smile. She was noble-born. Ren worked hard and proved his loyalty to gain admittance into training as a knight. ________________________________________________________. He was apprenticed under the most successful mage-knight in the realm and was her only apprentice to be successfully knighted as a mage and a knight on the same day. </p><p>Lana was fascinated by the new mage knight. His look of confusion and wonder every time he looked at her was intriguing. She had wanted to know why he looked at her in such awe. </p><p>Lana didn’t know this, but Ren saw a glimpse of his future when he first looked into her eyes. He saw her in a beautiful gown in front of a small gathering and his master officiating a ceremony between them. He saw his wedding to her. And he knew he would make this future a reality by getting permission to court her. </p><p>Even now, in the destruction of his foreseen wedding, he would do everything all over again to have just a few more moments with his precious Lana.</p><p>As the tears continued sliding down his cheeks, Ren began the final addition to his vows.</p><p>“I vow that I will bring the peace to this nation that you so desired, and, when at last this is done, I will rejoin you at your side. I know you would not want me to rush after you now, so I will carry your smile and your love in my heart until the day that I can see you again.”</p><p> With these final words, Ren rose from where he had knelt over his young wife’s body - ____________________________________________________________________________________the pure white dress ____________________________ was now stained red with blood!</p><p>Drawing his sword from its sheath which he had worn as regalia, Ren entered the battle which waged on around him, casting as he did so a spell of concealment on Lana’s body until he could return to give her a proper burial.</p><p>His sword cut and cast against the many enemies who dared ruin his most precious day and love. He cast and cut until there were no more enemies to fight. The arch of flowers that he and his bride had stood under was still there, blood staining the once-white petals red. Ren felt a familiar hand rest upon his shoulder.</p><p>“Master,” he intoned, asking a question, and showing his respect for her all at once.</p><p>“It is done. We will seek the sovereign’s council and find out who dared attack a wedding.” Her dark eyes lit with a familiar spark of rage fire twinned in his own eyes. “The originators of the attack are cowardly and will be dealt with,” she paused. “After we lay her to rest. Your Lana deserves an honorable burial.”</p><p>Ren nodded, his throat too choked for words. His master echoed his last vow to Lana. His master knew his wife well. This was to be the public wedding of a lady and mage-knight in the court. They had been handfasted for a month before this day. Lana refused to let him call her his wife until the public gathering. He had thought of her as his wife after the moment she accepted his offer. His master knew they had been handfasted before the queen. Only the sovereign, his master, and the happy couple knew that they were handfasted. Today was supposed to be the day of public declarations of vows. The insurrectionists would learn that a wedding was not a time to attack. They would learn quickly how deadly two mage-knights could be when there was fire lit from within. The insurrectionists learned their manners about honor and attack. </p><p>***</p><p>And I vow to strive every day to make you as happy as I was when you finally said yes after the forty-seventh time I asked you to marry me.</p><p>Joe paused for a moment. His vows were starting to sound… well he wasn’t sure what they sounded like at this point. He had thought about starting them over a thousand times, or taking out some of the weirder bits, but every time he started to cross something out or crumple a page, he hesitated.</p><p>So what if his mother thought he was insane, or his father-in-law wanted to wring his neck. These were his vows for his wife, and he was going to say them his way because even if it had taken longer than he hoped, and even if she had dated six other guys first, and even if she almost married one of them, in the end, she chose him.</p><p>And right on cue his lovely fiancée strode into the room, took one look at the vows he was writing, and laughed out loud. “Pa is going to kill you when you say that.”</p><p>“I know.” Joe grimaced. “Think I should change it?”</p><p>“Then I’d kill you.”</p><p>He knew she wasn’t bluffing; one does not become the foremost assassin in the guild by bluffing. Luckily, he was the only one in their respective families that knew about her job. Everyone else thought that she was the foremost expert on medicine in the guild. While this was true, she rarely used this skill for healing. His father-in-law believed that she was marrying down. She was, but not as far down as his father-in-law thought. </p><p>Joe was the Guild Historian. It was a prestigious job that was not widely respected in the guild. Joe knew what power his position wielded as did his precious Rosalita. He knew guild secrets that needed to be kept safe, ____________________________. The best part of his knowledge is that he began courting her after and during her apprenticeship. Of her seven relationships, he was the only one to know her true story. ‘Oh, I’ll add that part too!’</p><p>As he scribbled down the next addition to his vows, Rosalita laughed and placed a quick kiss on his brow. “Should I be expecting your vows to be entered in the Guild Archives?”</p><p>“Obviously!” Joe replied automatically. “Yours will be too - in the Highly Classified section of course.”</p><p>Rosalita gave him a strange look. “____________________________”</p><p>“____________________________” Joe teased. After Rosalita punched his shoulder he decided to tell her the real reason.</p><p>“All vows are entered into the Archives. Any vow of service, marriage, alliance, all are entered so they can be looked up and held against any oathbreakers. I mean, it is how you exited your last betrothal.” He looked at her with deep mirth in her eyes. “Your parents promised too much to your suitor and could not honor it. That’s why your father disdains me so much. I refused to deal with him in the matters of marriage. I am pledging my troth to you, not your father.”</p><p>Rosalita laughed. “I had not been sure of what exactly had happened to Merianas and his suit. I was gone on a training mission for two months and when I returned I had no suitor and a furious father for my prolonged absence.”</p><p>“That absence showed how much you wouldn’t be a high society wife for Merianas to have clutching at his arm. He refused to ‘have a woman that stayed away from the hearth so long.’ Direct quote from his lawsuit about false promises by your father.”</p><p>“Lawsuit?” She asked, her dark eyebrow arched high on her forehead.</p><p>“After three weeks, Marianas filed. He claimed that your father promised that you would be a devoted wife and never far from home. He also claimed that your father never actually told him what role you play in the guild. If he had known, Marianas would have never tried to court you.” Joe looked at Rosalita, his lips perched in an ugly sneer. “He highly respects the title of Medicine Woman but refuses to wed one because of how often she is called away from the city.” He chuckled darkly. “You remember that he married less than a month after he canceled his suit?” Rosalita nodded in confusion. “He was forced to marry her. ____________________________ When you were gone for three weeks, he realized he couldn’t marry you to save himself from marrying her. He now has ____________________________ a wife that will never leave him alone.”</p><p>Rosalita joined her fiancé in chuckling darkly. “Good to know I don’t need to get revenge.” </p><p>“I already did that. He had been seeing her long before his courting of you. He entered into a verbal contract. The Archives see and record all. He made a vow and the Archives made sure he would honor it.”</p><p>Rosalita was awed by how much honor resided in Joe. She knew of his faithfulness, his steadfastness, now she knows what he will do for honor. She was never so happy that she accepted until right now. Learning about her Joe made her lean in and grab his face for an intense kiss. It left them both breathless.</p><p>Joe’s tone was dark and hungry. “I promised you that we would both enter the marriage chamber chaste. Don’t make me break my promise.”</p><p>***</p><p>If you had told her three hundred years ago that she would be riding on the shoulder of the oldest shepherd of trees in Ranvail dressed in the traditional sprout-green robes signifying new beginning and growth that her people had worn to wed their spouse for millennia while writing the vows she would declare to the mortal she fell in love with once she saved his hide from the fools who dared kidnap him, Leilaniel would have thought you were beyond insane. </p><p>She loved the forest and respected the shepherds of trees, but her fear of heights coupled with their normally exceedingly slow nature caused her to balk at the idea of riding on a shepherd of trees. Thankfully, Frawnpip had agreed that this was a situation in which being hasty was called for, and her intense focus on writing her vows distracted Leilaniel from how high up she was...mostly. </p><p>While Leilaniel __________________________________________________________________________________________________ break tradition and wear her golden armor. Considering that her armor ____________________________________________________________________________________ that wasn’t going to be an option. The traditional robes were at least better than her travel-worn leggings and blood-stained tunic.</p><p>Of course, having fallen in love with a mortal was far beyond Leilaniel’s predictive ability. __________________________________________unions between mortals and her people were exceedingly rare, ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. The grief Leilaniel had witnessed her own dear aunt suffer was terrible. She had sworn to never let herself face the same, yet here she was. Love knew no bounds, and even if the time they had together would be brief, less than a hundred years, she would treasure every second of it. She would also make sure the kidnappers learned what it meant to steal even a second away from her time with her love.</p><p>At the edge of a small clearing in the forest, Frawnpip set her down with a harrumph right in front of her waiting lover and the three dozen or so knuckleheads who kidnapped him.</p><p>________________________________________________________</p><p>____________________________Leilaniel replied before being rudely interrupted by the leader of the bandits.</p><p>“Hand it over then.” The rough voice of a man who thought himself very wise when he was, in fact, quite foolish grated against her ears.</p><p>“You may have it.” Leilaniel drew a glowing green jewel from her clothes and tossed it to the greedily waiting man.</p><p>________________________________________________________ The heart of the forest was indeed very powerful - this is why the bandits sought it, why her lover had sought it before he met her and betrayed his king after learning the truth. But the bandit leader would not learn. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p><p>The heart of the forest - this gem as he called it - would be his doom.</p><p>“Leilaniel,” her lover watched from where he knelt with hands bound, “you-”</p><p>Before her lover could finish his thought, it began. </p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>9 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Rosalita backed off at Joe’s dark tone. From the conversation they were just having, she understood how important promises were to the Historian. People didn’t know this, but the Guild Assassin position is most known for killing off Historians. It was another reason why their match was so rare and treasured by the Guild Leader. A married Historian lived far longer than an unmarried one, same was true for an Assassin. </p><p>Joe knew his history. He’d been sneaking into the Archives since he was young. He didn’t know it then, but the Archives knew he would be the Historian. ________________________________________________________ Rosalita. Joe had been looking at Rosalita long before she was picked to apprentice to the former Guild Assassin. He admired her strength, her courage, her brain, and her beauty. She was beautiful inside and out.</p><p>***</p><p>Emilia was nervous as she wrote her vows out. ‘I love you when my memory fades. I love you through dimensional travel and red button pushing. I loved you when you fumbled at my feet with a ring and couldn’t form the words.’ Now what else can I put that isn’t classified?</p><p>Emilia ____________________________ Greg __________________________________________ Samantha. __________________________________________Dr. Lenox __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Greg ______________ Samantha ____________________________</p><p>Back to the vows… Well, making a list always helped Emilia to sort out her thoughts.</p><p>Boxes - I love you more than you fear closed wooden boxes<br/>
Nightmare - I love you when you whisper sweet nothings to drive away my nightmares<br/>
Monkeys - I loved you even when I studied monkeys (well technically that was AD Emilia and she loved AD Greg, but it counts, right?)<br/>
Creepy - I loved you even when you said I looked creepy<br/>
Samantha - I love you more than Samantha obsesses over her hot pink buck knife.</p><p>The last point was a little odd, but for some reason, Emilia had been ending every list she made with Samantha ever since the dimensional travel incident. It was almost like she was a character in a novel and the writer decided that ending every list with Samantha was one of her quirks.</p><p>Looking up from the paper she had been writing on, Emilia spotted Greg coming into the lab and carefully avoiding debris as he went. The lab was still undergoing repairs, but at least it was usable now… mostly.</p><p>“How’s the experiment going, Em?” Greg kissed her on the cheek.</p><p>Before he could look down at her notes, Emilia quickly picked them up and stuffed them in her lab coat pocket.</p><p>“These aren’t for the experiments. They’re my vows, and before you ask, no you can’t peek.”</p><p>Greg chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. “I won’t peek, Em. I swear. I just came in to tell you that Samantha chose her bridesmaid’s gown.” He paused, looking like he was trying to find the right words to deliver the next bit of information.</p><p>“It’s hot pink, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>10 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>“A man once vowed to make his wife pizza every day, isn’t that crazy?” She asked him, looking at the ring he had just put on her finger.</p><p>“Interesting,” he responded, not really paying attention to his new fiancée’s remarks on vows. All the chef knew was that their dessert was going to be an excellent cherry on top of this engagement sundae. He had been planning and practicing for some time now to make sure he got it right, and it was spectacular.</p><p>“A woman once vowed she would divorce her husband if he didn’t bring her coffee every day.” She prattled on. “That’s legal in Saudi Arabia, you know.”</p><p>“Oh?” It was just like Erin to know something like that. She liked to look up strange laws. She knew, for instance, and had imparted to him, that it is illegal to throw rocks at trains in Wisconsin.</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>11 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Erin knew that Jeff wasn’t listening. He never listened when dessert was on its way. She knew he had been entertaining thoughts about this restaurant’s desserts for weeks now. She didn’t realize that one of the reasons was to ensure the best dessert to go with their successful engagement. Erin knew one of her vows was going to be a pointed one about listening.</p><p>***</p><p>Lori wondered whether she was being a little too protective of her vows. Writing them in a cipher with invisible ink that relied on a special magical signature to make it visible and hiring a whole agency to guard them after sealing them in a chest, putting an arcane lock on it, then locking that in a safe inside a castle guarded by only the people she trusted the most was perfectly understandable, of course, but this last addition to security might be a little over the top.</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>12 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Then again, if she didn’t do at least that much, then Zin would definitely find and read them before the wedding. And she wanted to surprise him.</p><p>Okay, yes, a small part of this was payback for the amount of trouble she had to go through to find him during his proposal. Yes he had left clues in a lot of places, and they were very good clues, but they still required the completion of exceedingly difficult tasks that made the time she conquered Hell seem like a walk in the park.</p><p>Not that hell wasn’t unlike a walk in the park. Broken sidewalks, screaming and running and laughing. A hot sun that beat down on you because there was no shade. A merry-go-round that refuses to stop.</p><p>Zin was a crafty and complicated man. She didn’t doubt that he was guarding his vows with a similar zeal.</p><p>Now, the infrared sensors and night vision goggles were all distributed and monitored. Zin’s name, rank, and serial number were known and flagged on the watch list. Zin sympathizers had been routed out. Iris scanners, number locks, fingerprint locks, and passcodes had all been established and or installed. Voice recognition was prepared.____________________________</p><p>Right! There needed to be an anti-magic barrier outside of the range of the magical locks but inside of the guarded area. Oh, and while she was at it, there should be a nonmagical barrier… maybe an electric fence.</p><p>She sighed. The real issue was that Zin could use mind-reading on her and learn exactly what she had written unless she was willing to have her memory of her own vows erased. And while she and Zin had mutually agreed to not use mind-reading on each other, she knew from her personal consideration of breaching that agreement that he just might do it.</p><p>Maybe she could have him sign a blood pact?</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>13 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Jeff knew that Erin thought he wasn’t listening to her. He was, he just had the enviable ability to split his thinking, not that anyone truly believed him. He loved and hated this ability in equal measure. </p><p>“Yes Erin, we definitely should have a raspberry chocolate layer for our wedding cake. I don’t agree with the purple, but let me see what shade you have in mind for the vests.”</p><p>Erin’s jaw dropped and Jeff laughed.</p><p>14 November 2020<br/>
Unfortunately, Laicolasse and Calnelas both had homework to work on that prevented them from writing today.</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>15 November 2020</strong>
</h3>
<p>Everyone knew that Sally sold seashells by the seashore. However, few people knew anything else about her. He was one of those few people. He would come to the seashore where Sally sold her seashells every Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes, Sally saw him sewing sacks when she arrived at the seashore to sell seashells.</p><p>At first, he would engage Sally with idle chatter about little things -________________________________________________________ Sally ______________. Sometimes, he brought a songbook and sang sad songs or sang silly songs, or sang happy songs. </p><p>After several years of simple Saturdays and Sundays, Sally selling her seashells by the seashore while they spoke about silly somethings or while he sang some songs, he asked her to meet him for supper at Sunny Samson’s Saloon.</p><p>Sally said yes.</p><p>______________________________________________________________________Sally ____________________________________________________________________________________ That supper at Sunny Samson’s Saloon was the first of so many suppers spent sitting side by side. And that supper at Sunny Samson’s Saloon led to one special supper in the sixth summer since Sally met him while selling seashells at the seashore. ____________________________he asked Sally to marry him. </p><p>And Sally said yes.</p><p>Sally sometimes sits on a Sunday evening after she finishes selling seashells by the seashore and spends time recalling the special vows she said on her wedding day.</p><p>They were stupendous, silly, sassy, special, sweet, strong, and sincere. Sally swore herself to Steve and Steve swore himself to her. The day she became Sally Susan Steppans Schwartz was a day that she will always be sappy about.</p><p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>16 November 2020<h3><strong>
____________________________

<p>______________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________Mr. Narrator.”</p>

<p>It’s Miss Narrator.</p>

<p>“Fine. Miss Narrator. ______________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>___</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________Rose______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________Rose ____________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>Rose ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________ Rose ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>___ Rose ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________</p>

<p>“That is a lovely story. But your name isn’t Rose, you are not a princess, you are not marrying a farmer, and he was not your childhood friend.”</p>

<p>And? I don’t see the problem. It’s touching.</p>

<p>“And it has nothing to do with your relationship. Try again.”</p>

<p>But-</p>

<p>“Look, what was it about Reynold that made you fall in love.”</p>

<p>Well, there are a lot of things. Reynold captured my heart with a lot of little moments. He was there for me when I was in a bad way. He encouraged me when I didn’t believe in myself. He was everything I could ever ask for, and I want to be that for him.</p>

<p>“See, you don’t need some story about a princess and farmer to write your vows.”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>A column of green light shot up from the spot in the clearing where the bandit captain stood as he caught the heart of the forest, followed swiftly by a cry of pain. Glowing green tendrils of light crept from the bandit captain’s hands up his arms like vines writhing beneath his skin as they made their way ever closer to his heart.</p>

<p>This was why Leilaniel’s people had protected the heart of the forest for so long.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>It was because humans could not hold it.</p>

<p>__________________________________________ It would consume them inside and out, and it would destroy them.</p>

<p>______________Leilaniel’s lover l______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________had learned the lesson that so many others had ignored.</p>

<p>This was also what had first attracted her to him.</p>

<p>But the bandit captain would not listen. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>_______________________ Leilaniel questioned as the bandit captain howled in pain.</p>

<p>“It is enough, Leilaniel!!” Her lover caught her attention. “No more. Please.”</p>

<p>He stood there, bound, wounded, probably tortured, and still he begged forgiveness for the one who had hurt him. It was one of the things she loved about him, and one of the things she feared would one day doom him. ____, Leilaniel ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>He was mercy. She was vengeance.</p>

<p>“At’al Leif Ind Hir’ata!” Leilaniel invoked the ancient rite, reaching out to withdraw the heart of the forest from its would-be victim. The glowing green vine-like tendrils receded from the bandit captain’s body and back into the jewel from whence they came. The column of light which had burst forth so suddenly retreated just as quickly into the stone as Leilaniel lifted it and placed it once more within her clothes. “In’ter’ei Vir’tu.” Leilaniel murmured softly, bracing herself for the shock of the heart of the forest once more assimilating itself with her heart. She had withdrawn it before coming after her lover since the extraction was arguably more taxing.<br/>
The bandits gathered around their leader who still trembled from the aftershock of being overcome by the heart of the forest.</p>

<p>“Do you understand now?” Leilaniel questioned, ____________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>The bandit captain shook in his boots. “Yes. Yes, we will go.” He signalled for his men to withdraw, and they wasted no time in doing so. Some shouted about a monster as they went.</p>

<p>Leilaniel sighed and went swiftly to her lover’s side. ______________</p>

<p>______________ Her lover gave her a cocky grin that was only half convincing as she helped to untie him and he stumbled a bit. “It’s nothing I can’t live with.” He grimaced a bit as he moved around.</p>

<p>“This will never happen again.” Leilaniel vowed, the first of many vows she would make that day.</p>

<p>______________ her lover replied, “I know you will always come for me.” He stole a chaste kiss from her lips. “And I always wait for you.”</p>

<p>______________ Frawnpip____________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________Leilaniel ____________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>Her lover laughed, and even Frawnpip himself, the grand old shepherd, chuckled in that slow way of his that sounds almost more like the creaking of branches on a windy day than a laugh.</p>

<p>“I think we have waited long enough.”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>“Seriously, I do not understand how Rita could so blatantly rip off “The Princess Bride” like that,” Miss Narrator muttered beneath her breath, barely audible to Rita.</p>

<p>Rita stopped her new narration of her and Reynold’s love story, which Miss Narrator believed was even more inaccurate than the first ____stories. “Stop right there. __________________________________________. You need to tell the story of you. Your story is interesting. Your story is powerful. Quit trying to make me tell bullshit, excuse my language.” Miss Narrator stared down her narratee, “Tell me the real story or I will make something up that is terrible and doesn’t fit the two of you at all.” </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Felsee jumped from the cliff, spreading her leathery wings. They were too worn and tattered for flying, but they worked beautifully for gliding. And conveniently, they snapped into her back when she was on the ground, so they didn’t function as deadweight during battles. </p>

<p>As she alighted on the ground, Felsee activated her fel sight to locate her love, Kath’nar. While she scanned the area, Felsee thought, not for the first time by any means, about the irony of how her name sounded in the common tongue. It was, after all, only through fel sight that she could see.</p>

<p>After a brief moment of panic that she had come to the wrong area, Felsee spotted the vague form of Kath’nar. It was obstructed by - she honed her senses as she moved toward the obstruction - the wall of a cave. </p>

<p>Kath’nar’s greeting graced her ears as she entered the mouth of the cave. His voice was deep and melodious as usual and it tugged at her heart in a way she had thought nothing ever would again before she gave up her sight. That had been a dark time for her. The darkness of the world without sight suited her mood at the time, and she never once regretted the ritual until she met Kath’nar.</p>

<p>Certainly, the power to fight against the fel beings was worth the sacrifice, and navigating without regular sight was no problem as her other senses were heightened. Also, fel sight was convenient for spotting ambushes and hidden or disguised enemies. However, she did sometimes wish she could see Kath’nar’s face - not the vague face in black and green hues that fel sight gave her, but his face. Was his smooth skin a creamy, pale tone, or ivory? Perhaps it was chocolate-colored. And what shade did his eyes glow? She felt it. With every passing day, her memory of colors other than black and fel green faded away.</p>

<p>“My love, is everything alright?” Kath’nar’s voice pulled her out of her ruminations.</p>

<p>“Yes, well, mostly.” Felsee sighed. “I do worry that your family will not approve of me. I am, after all, *this.*”</p>

<p>After a brief moment of silence in which Felsee’s inner demon clouded her mind with doubts, she felt a strong, sure hand on her cheek. “My love, they will love you just as I do.”</p>

<p>“________________________________________________________.”</p>

<p>“Felsee,” Kath’nar spoke gently, “______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You took in the blood of the demons and blinded your eyes so that you could *see* and so that you could fight against the corruption of the demons.” Kath’nar calmed her doubts as he had so many times before. “If anyone calls you ‘tainted,’ they are the ones who cannot see.”</p>

<p>Felsee smiled. ______________________________________________________________________ Kath’nar. Of all places, they had met in the battlefield during an uneasy alliance when the Demon Hunters were still distrusted by the rest of the Free Peoples but at a time when their power was necessary.</p>

<p>Amid all the bloodshed and fear and unease, Kath’nar had found her, wounded. Perhaps because her eyes were veiled under her helm, he had mistaken her for just another blood elf and taken her to a shelter where he treated her wounds and realized she was one of the Demon Hunters.</p>

<p>But he did not withdraw from her like most of the Free Peoples, like her people - the ones that used to be her friends and she feared her family would have if they had lived. No Kath’nar stayed by her side, nursing her back to health. In return, she had stayed by his side throughout the rest of the battle. Since then, they had grown close, and, at length, he asked her to marry him.</p>

<p>She had said yes, though not without hesitation. At first, he thought she would say no because she took so long to respond and started crying. She then had to explain it was just that she hadn’t thought herself worthy of that kind of love after… everything.</p>

<p> </p>


<h3><strong>17 November 2020 (as AD Sinsrfun10)</strong></h3>


<p> "__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________ dwarf ______________ elf. _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________."</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.</p>

<p>Erika ______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>'______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Sixty miles away from Erika's tiny apartment, ________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p>James _____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________. James' __________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.' </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Erika ______________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Erika _________________________ ___.  </p>

<p>______________, Dr. Aijem, _____________________________________________________ _____________________________ Erika __________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p>___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p> </p>

<p>__________________________________________. Dr. Aijem ___________________ _____________________________________ Erika______________. </p>

<p>James ____________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.</p>

<p>James______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________James ____________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________ James ____________________________. James, ____________________________. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Erika _____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ash ______________Pikachu, Brock, and Misty. ______________ __________________________________________. Erika ____________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>James' _________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. James __________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. James__________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ James __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. This guy, Jesus, was so loyal and so good, he sacrificed himself to save the rest of mankind. James ____________________________________________________________________________________ Jesus ______________. James__________________________________________ __________________________________________Mary ____________________ ________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p>James ____________________________________________________________________________________ Jesus ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________, James ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. James ______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________. James l________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>James ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus____________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day, the game had given James a special pass to try to battle and catch number 150 in the 'dex. He went to the gym to try and get it and bumped into a woman. She was taller than him, with gorgeous dark eyes and hair. He looked closer and she was the woman from The Dream! </p>

<p>Erika was bumped out of her focus, her finger hitting incense instead of lucky egg. She was miffed, but shrugged it off internally. She heard a deep voice apologize and then she felt the stare. She finally looked up from her phone and stared back. She would recognize those eyes anywhere. Her eyes immediately left his clean-shaven face to check if the hands were the same. They were. Tears welled up in her eyes.</p>

<p> "It's you," they said simultaneously. Their mutual daze was interrupted by someone loudly calling for the different teams to break apart. </p>

<p> "______________ Erika ____________________________. </p>

<p> "____________________________________________________________________________________ Erika______________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________</p>

<p>_______________________</p>

<p> </p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p> </p>


<h3><strong>18 November 2020</strong></h3>


<p>“I still remember how we met on the first day of the first month of the year of the dragon. I neither was nor desired to celebrate the new year coming, yet somehow because of you I did. </p>

<p>You were part of a parade and one of the members of the dragon - the head of the dragon, in fact. I had to pass by the parade to get home, and as I tried to finagle my way through the crowd, a gentleman shifted to get a better view, bumping into me, causing me to lose my balance and fall toward the parade area. As fate would have it, I found myself not trampled over after hitting the ground, but saved by a dragon who caught me as I fell. Of course, the rest of the dragon failed to notice and kept moving behind you, and, instead of pushing me upright and then continuing, you dragged me along. </p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>“I, Ai, take you, Doryu, to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.”</p>

<p>Sixty years later, on the first day of the first month of the year of the dragon, a very old dragon celebrated the new year with his wife once again.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>As Greg stood on the beach at the end of the aisle lined with yellow hibiscus blossoms - a celebration of the wonderful state of Hawaii - his breath caught in his throat when she appeared and began walking toward him.</p>

<p>Em was utterly breathtaking.</p>

<p>She wore a beautiful white off-the-shoulder gown that fell to just above her ankles, and a haku lei of woven orchids and baby’s breath graced her forehead. But more than that, she was Em, and she was smiling at him as she walked down the aisle.</p>

<p>Greg barely even saw Dr. Lenox as he stood in for Em’s father to give the bride away because his eyes were so utterly filled with Em and his mind was so overwhelmed with the thought that she would, very soon, be his wife.</p>

<p>And then she was saying her vows, and he was holding back laughter as she vowed to love him forever even if he pressed another button, and he was grinning from ear to ear in pure bliss as she slipped the ring on his finger.</p>

<p>Nothing but Em could draw his attention so fully that he barely even noticed the flash of hot pink as Samantha flitted back and forth as necessary to fulfill the duties of both the maid of honor and the best man - he and Em had agreed that, due to some rather abhorrent memories of AD Isabella, the Isabella from this dimension would not be part of the wedding party, and - in all honesty - after interdimensional travel together, Samantha was the closest person to both of them other than each other.</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________ Greg began.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Greg paused and slipped the ring on Em’s finger. “I love you, Em.”</p>

<p>He only vaguely heard the minister saying they were now husband and wife and that he could kiss the bride because of how loud Em’s beautiful smile was - and yes, he fully understood the impossibility of that statement, but it was still true. And then he kissed her, and they were married.</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>__________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________. After what they had already been through, he knew he and Em could weather any storm. And besides that, they could always ask Samantha to help out - she was already appointed godmother of any children they might have. </p>

<p>____________________________ </p>

<p>____________________________ After their last adventure, not one of them ventured far without having at least one practical item handy. Samantha had her hot pink buck knife strapped to her thigh with a garter underneath her hot pink bride’s maid’s dress. Greg had an all-in-one pocket knife in the back pocket of his white wedding suit. And Em had, from what Greg gathered, woven a strong rope into her haku lei. They also had an entire survival kit ready and waiting in a decorated bag by the wedding arch - just in case.</p>

<p>Not that anything would happen…</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>He began writing his vows when he was five years old.</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ That said, there was one vow that he had kept exactly the same as when he first thought of it at age five: </p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>The adults had laughed the first time he said it because he was five and she was four and it had followed “You’re reaaaaaaalllly pwetty and I’m gonna marry you when we grow up.” But he had meant it.</p>

<p>He still meant it.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>And it all meant “I love you.”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>“____________________________.</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Zin looked at Lori l____________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>He pulled a dagger from his waist and cut his palm. She did the same. </p>

<p>“I, Zin, and she, Lori, by the honor of the blood contract do hereby swear we shall not use mind reading of any kind to learn each other’s wedding vows. Should this contract be breached, we shall pay the blood price.” Zin began the ritual of the blood contract, tugging his mana through his blood and hers. “This I swear.”</p>

<p>“This I swear.” Lori echoed as their blood swirled together.</p>

<p>A brief heat stabbed Zin’s hand as the blood contract sealed itself and closed the wounds on his and Lori’s hands.</p>

<p>______________ Zin commented, stealing a kiss.</p>

<p>______________ Lori mumbled back through the kiss. “But you’re not seeing my vows before the wedding.” She pulled back and walked out of the room.</p>

<p>Zin chuckled. “Neither are you!” He called after her.</p>

<p>19 November 2020<br/>
There was a flash of light and the wedding party disappeared. And arrived at a very similar wedding, except the bridesmaid was dressed in a regal green gown with a very familiar and horrifying face.</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>“You jinxed it!” “This is your fault!” “I blame you!” Three voices overlapped.</p>

<p>How in the world did they even interdimensional travel again this time? There was no red button marked ‘do not push’ at the wedding. There was no tattoo not a tattoo mark on anyone’s forehead that had the power to transfer places.</p>

<p>And they just had to show up at the AD wedding of AD Greg and AD Emilia with AD Isabella as the maid of honor, AD Kyle who now had a very weird amount of hair that made him look somewhat monkey-like as the minister - Emilia realized with horror that was probably because he had been alchemically transmuted with a monkey and and that AD Emilia was not, as they had assumed, a biologist but was in fact more likely an alchemist and that AD Greg probably was too - AD Samantha as, apparently, the ringbearer, AD Dr. Lenox as the officiate, and some random person dressed in a lab coat as the best man.</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>Thankfully, they had not ended up in direct line of sight of anyone in the AD wedding party. Rather, they had the good fortune of ending up behind a stand of coconut palm trees______________ Emilia______________________________________________________________________ AD Samantha ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>Emilia__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>At any rate, despite the tree cover, they were conspicuously dressed like a bride, groom, and maid of honor/best man while standing on a beach no more than 20 feet from their AD selves who were also attending an AD wedding, the survival bag that had been packed and sitting next to the wedding arch had not come with them, and there was no good way to leave their current location without being spotted by the one group of people in the AD world that they least wanted to meet due to rather bad memories - not to mention that if they were spotted there was a high probability of being turned into test subjects.</p>

<p>______________Greg _____</p>

<p>Emilia ______________Samantha.</p>

<p>“You okay?” Emilia placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder.</p>

<p>Samantha was muttering something about quitting again with a rather shocked expression on her face.</p>

<p>_____AD Kyle…</p>

<p>Emilia ______________ AD Kyle____________________________ Samantha ________________________________________________________</p>

<p>_________ Greg ________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________ Emilia ________</p>

<p>Samantha seemed to recover enough to think about what to do while fingering the slit in her hot pink bridesmaid’s dress that was carefully placed so that she would more easily be able to reach her hot pink buck knife. “If they leave the venue, we’ll be spotted instantly unless we create cover.” She glanced up at the coconut palm trees. “I need the rope and the pocket knife.” </p>

<p>Greg and Emilia complied as quickly as they were able and watched as Samantha tied the pocket knife to one end of the rope and used it as a weight to toss the rope around a small gap in one of the tree trunks with enough of a curve that she could reach through a gap on the other side to grab it. She handed the pocket knife which was still attached to the rope to Greg and the other end of the rope to Emilia, placing herself between them. “Hold this for a moment.”</p>

<p>Greg ____________</p>

<p>______________ Emilia____________________________Samantha __________________________________________</p>

<p>Grabbing the hot pink buck knife from her thigh, Samantha hiked up the skirt of her dress as best she could, realized it wasn’t going to work, and used the hot pink buck knife to slice off enough that she was now essentially wearing a miniskirt with a slit.</p>

<p>Greg diverted his eyes as best he could. Emilia made a mental note to find something she could use as a needle and thread to repair the dress later as she gathered up the discarded cloth__________________________________________________________________________________________________.</p>

<p>____________________________ Samantha muttered before taking the rope back from the other two and tying it with a little slack around her waist. Then, she started shimmying up the trunk of the palm tree, using the rope as a way to hold her position and the hot pink buck knife to help give her leverage so that she didn’t have to wrap her arms all the way around the trunk and possibly be spotted.</p>

<p>When she was nearly at the top of the tree, she started cutting down palm fronds with her hot pink buck knife, and Emilia signaled Greg just in time to help her catch them before he could be struck in the head. ____________________________Samantha ______________ Once the pile was almost as tall as Emilia, Samantha stopped and made her way back down the tree, untied the rope, and handed the rope and pocket knife back to their respective owners.</p>

<p>“Okay, now we make a convincingly natural-looking pile of fronds hideout and stay inside it until they” Samantha signalled the AD wedding party “leave.</p>

<p>Emilia and Greg nodded and the three set to work, Samantha giving advice here and there about where to place the fronds so they looked less purposefully placed and more like they had fallen from the tree on their own.</p>

<p>****</p>

<p>Smucky worked on the administrative side of the court building. She had been hired there after she turned 18 and graduated high school. She was shy and worked hard. There was a guy she went on a couple of dates with; he was a smooth-talker with red hair a year older than her. They had hung out a few times at his apartment where she met his good friend Skippy. </p>

<p>Skippy and the friend graduated from the same high school, a different one than the one Smucky graduated from. They hit it off pretty well, their shy and quiet natures lent them well to hide out and talk. In their talks, they realized how much they liked each other and began to date. </p>

<p>Because they worked disparate jobs, they used the friend as a messenger between them sometimes. Smucky found out how much Skippy likes peanut butter and she had a jar delivered via their mutual friend. In retaliation, he had a jar of grape jelly delivered via the same friend. </p>

<p>They had been dating a few months when Skippy introduced Smucky to his family. His younger sister bounded out of their uncle’s house to meet the girl that he willingly would inflict his family upon. Smucky had been warned but apparently had not taken Skippy’s warning about his sister to heart.</p>

<p>They were together through their birthdays and hard times for their families. Skippy’s mom died from cancer shortly after he was legally able to drink in the United States. Smucky suffered through her parents’ divorce. </p>

<p>They came together through these times and fell even more in love. </p>

<p>Skippy planned a beautiful proposal that Smucky had no idea was coming; she was only excited for cake. She agreed and they were both very happy. </p>

<p>Their vows included a beautiful piece of scripture from First Corinthians. </p>

<p>Their kiss as a newly married couple surprised everyone because Skippy dipped Smucky down to share their first kiss as husband and wife. </p>

<p>And they lived happily ever after.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>He wasn’t sure if he regretted agreeing to let her write her own vows or not. Certainly, they were touching. They were also engaging, thrilling, terrifying, sad, exciting, edge-of-the-seat-anticipation-inducing, and many other adjectives. Rather than vows, he would have to say, it sounded like she was an oral story-teller of old telling the tale of a young man and a young woman who found each other amidst the chaos and adventures - good and bad - in their lives. This was, of course, only emphasized by his recognition that she was adjusting how much detail she gave at certain points and when she moved on with the plot as she was going (he knew her tells), likely as a reaction to the response she was getting from him and the other guests. Well, this was a part of why he loved her. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Soon. </p>

<p>Grettia was terrified. She had an intense fear of public speaking. And crowds. And being in front of people in general. And suddenly developing a lisp while speaking. And tripping over her own feet. And being so scared that she froze. </p>

<p>It would be worth it, granted, but the notion that it was coming soon still nawed at her every nerve. She should be excited, thrilled even. She should be grinning so hard that her face would break. She should be annoying everyone because she just wouldn’t shut up about it. But while she was happy about it, the fear was casting a dark shadow that kept getting larger. </p>

<p>Soon.</p>

<p>“You know, I was thinking,” Matthew’s voice pulled her out of the void that began sucking her in. “I think I’d like to change the wedding plans. Just have a small ceremony. You, me, the priest, your best friend, my little sister.” Grettia couldn’t believe her ears. Matthew had been looking forward to seeing all his friends and distant relatives, and meeting hers. Still, he continued as he placed a hand on her cheek. “ And since our parents are right next to each other, it can be at the graveyard. Some might think it’s a bit morbid, but I really want them to be there.” Tears fell down her cheeks, and he wiped them away before pressing his forehead against hers. “The rest of the guests we were going to invite can be at the reception, and we’ll slip away early.”</p>

<p>Soon. </p>

<p>She smiled. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Why did the wedding reception have to be at the beach about fifteen minutes after the wedding once all the people in lab coats finished rearranging chairs and bringing out tables? Professor Dlaun, Professor Xoi, and Samantha had to bunker down in their palm-frond hideout for hours, and Samantha was quickly becoming stir crazy - not to mention her legs were cramping a little bit and she was getting very hungry. </p>

<p>The wedding had been around noon. It was now an hour or two after sunset.</p>

<p>The reception was still going on. </p>

<p>______________Samantha ____________________________</p>

<p>______________Professor Xoi ______________</p>

<p>____________________________ Professor Dlaun whisper-whined. ____________________________ Professor Dlaun really did not like being in pain. ________________________________________________________</p>

<p>Samantha groaned internally and was just about to shift enough to cover her ears when her professor’s incessant whining about how much pain she was in was abruptly cut off after a brief shuffling sound next to her. Then she blushed and kicked Professor Xoi who was between her and Professor Dlaun.</p>

<p>“Get a room!” She whisper-shouted at the newlyweds who were now kissing.</p>

<p>“____________________________Professor Xoi replied in a cocky whisper. ______</p>

<p>A soft smacking sound caused Samantha to chuckle as she realized Professor Dlaun had smacked her husband’s head.</p>

<p>“No more kisses for you until we’re out of here.” Professor Dlaun stated sternly, though there was a lilt to her whisper that made her sound more playful than angry.</p>

<p> </p>


<h3><strong>20 November 2020</strong></h3>



<h3><strong>21 November 2020</strong></h3>


<p> "Why did your promise include travel to alternate dimensions?!" Emilia called out, running with Greg and Samantha away from their former hiding spot. "Why would AD Samantha go behind the trees?" Emilia accused the Samantha that traveled with her.</p>

<p> "I don't know," Samantha yelled back. "Maybe she likes trees like me?! How would I know? We are not the same person!"</p>

<p>"Ladies, more running, less yelling," Greg panted.</p>

<p>Emilia's dress was stained, her hopes of potentially saving her dress for future children dashed by the new dimensional hop. </p>

<p>Closely behind the running trio were AD Samantha and AD Isabella. It looked like the trio's foresight on choosing running shoes was helping them outpace their scary pursuers. </p>

<p>They heard AD Isabella call out. Soon, they heard more shouts. </p>

<p>Greg attempted to joke, "I promised you for better or worse, can it be better already?"</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>________________________________________________________ Raven __________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. </p>

<p>Raven________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________.</p>

<p>__________________________________________, Raven ______________</p>

<p>______________ Raven,” ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________.</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>_________</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>“Raven,” __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>____________________________ </p>

<p>________________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>“Raven, ____________________________________________________________________________________ Father Milke ______________________________________________________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Right when the trio was about to be captured by a large number of people in white lab coats, something happened that, for once, wasn’t a bad something...</p>

<p>Mostly.</p>

<p>A white-gold sparkling light seemed to emanate from the chests of each of the three interdimensional travelers, swirl around them, and then a familiar tingling sensation that seemed to accompany teleportation swept through them.</p>

<p>“So, where are we now?” Greg asked.</p>

<p>Samantha shrugged. “New Zealand? There are a lot of forests there… I think.”</p>

<p> Emilia was about to add to the conversation but was stopped by the coalescing of the white-gold light which had still been swirling around them. </p>

<p>The light now took on a vaguely feminine humanoid shape and spoke in a soft, ethereal voice. “I apologize for putting you in danger; however, you are still needed in this land, and my power is limited. When you can escape on your own, you will need to do so.”</p>

<p>“__________________________________________</p>

<p>The ethereal female chuckled. “__________________________________________You recall the box you destroyed ______________?”</p>

<p>Emilia____________________________. Samantha began fingering her hot pink buck knife.</p>

<p>“______________Possessor __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Possessor, ________________________________________________________for long without a vessel.”</p>

<p>Ah.__________ Emilia____________________________.</p>

<p>“______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I have separated my existence between the three of you.” __________________________________________ “______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ contained within your wedding vows to one another.”</p>

<p>Samantha glared at Greg and Emilia. “______________.”</p>

<p>__________________________________________, ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This is your task.” With her final words, the light burst and splintered into three portions, shooting once again into the chests of each of the three interdimensional travelers.</p>

<p>******</p>

<p>Peppa dropped the binder. All the papers inside fell across the hallway floor. She scrambled to make sure that her hard work wasn't destroyed by the stumbling of her classmates putting their dirty shoes all over it.</p>

<p>She had saved most of it by the time the late bell rang, but she belatedly realized that someone else had been helping her. </p>

<p>He silently held out the papers to her and she gently took them and shoved them back into the binder. She thanked him and ran to World History.</p>

<p>Unknown to her, he found one last page and when he went to find her, she had disappeared.</p>

<p>That night, Peppa opened her wedding planner book. Her mom had her to help plan the wedding between her older sister and her fiance. Peppa liked her sister, but she had no idea what her sister saw in him. They were very much opposites, but the heart wants what the heart wants.</p>

<p>Peppa was putting her binder back together from the disaster that happened at school. She reorganized the binder. Wedding colors were first, followed by options for venue, flowers, food, and cake. The next section was all about the people in the wedding. The first part of this section was all about Paige and Whims. (Whims was a nickname that stemmed from an abbreviation of his last name, Williams.) The next part of this section involved the wedding party. Paige was whittling the number of bridesmaids down for eight and Whims needed to add at least one more groomsman to balance out Paige's side. They had already decided that Peppa was going to be the flower girl. Peppa wasn't entirely happy about this decision, but her mother told her to put on her boots and deal with it. The couple was still quibbling over who they were going to pressgang into being the ringbearer. There were no ideas in the binder because they had no idea either. Peppa sighed just looking at that section. The third and last part of the people section was the guest list. Peppa despaired at either of them agreeing on the amount of people at the wedding and reception. </p>

<p>The last part of the binder was Peppa's favorite. It contained their vows. And the list of people giving toasts. And the song lists. But Peppa loved the vows. </p>

<p>Paige and Whims swore Peppa to secrecy. She made copies of what each of them were working on on her tablet and printed out for the binder their vows. Peppa ensured that the vows stayed private by translating them into code.</p>

<p>After reorganizing the rest of the binder, she got to this section and stopped. The vows were missing. Peppa kept them at the front of this section because she liked to look at what Paige and Whims wrote about each other.</p>

<p>Peppa lost their encoded vows! Admittedly, this wasn't as big of a deal as Peppa was making it out to be, but she didn't know who had the vows and if they would be decoded and found by either her sister, Whims, or someone else connected to them. Her vow of secrecy may be coming to an end. </p>

<p>Peppa quickly finished reorganizing the binder and returned it to its place of prominence in her desk. She proceeded to make a list of everyone that had been in contact with the binder after the incident. Besides herself, there was only one person on the list: the boy that picked up the pages. Peppa gave herself a quest for school on Monday: find the boy and interrogate him about the vows.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Mariana ran as fast as she could with the layers upon layers of her dress weighing her down. Really, a wedding dress was not an ideal get-away outfit, especially when her mother had forced her to wear high heels with the dress as well. To be fair, the length of the skirt meant that without high heels, she would be walking on the front of the dress. But it could have been tailored.</p>

<p>Her train wasn’t helping either. It was far too long to be left dragging behind her or her pursuers would use it to trip and catch her, so she had it bundled up awkwardly in her arms while she ran. She had to keep one hand on top of the pile so it didn’t whip up into her face.</p>

<p>How was she supposed to know her vows would cause this?</p>

<p>“So, can I carry you this time?” Rob laughed as he ran up beside her, his once white suit already stained with dirt.</p>

<p>Mariana wanted so badly to say no, but it would undoubtedly be easier to move that way right now. “Fine.”</p>

<p>Rob looked at her for a moment with shock before whooping for joy and scooping her up in his arms.</p>

<p>______________.</p>

<p>“The forest.” Mariana replied, knowing Rob would head for their hideout where they could (a) evade their pursuers, and (b) get a change of clothes - probably green ones.  Unless Scarlet had been messing with their cache of emergency clothes again.</p>

<p>“You know, I thought we were past the whole ‘death to the outlaws’ thing at this point.” Mariana complained.</p>

<p>Rob laughed. “It’s because we invited Sherry and Princess Johanna. They’re still holding a grudge.”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Soooo, they were in fact in New Zealand. Well, AD New Zealand anyway. They had figured this out because, after wandering through the forest for a while, they stumbled across the Bag-End set that had been converted into a permanent tourist attraction after the making of the Hobbit movies.</p>

<p>“____________________________ Samantha commented, ____________________________________________________________________________________.</p>

<p>____________________________ Greg _________. “I mean, yeah it would be cool to meet a hobbit, but…”</p>

<p>“Food.” Samantha replied.</p>

<p>Emilia’s mouth watered just from hearing the word. After the wedding reception that lasted half a day and being teleported to New Zealand, (it was dark there too, but what the time difference was…) they had wandered around for a few more hours and found no source of food.</p>

<p>“Who is knocking on my door at four in the morning?” A grumpy old man opened the Bag-end door, shocking all three interdimensional travelers.</p>

<p>“Hobbit!?” Samantha shrieked, jumping back three feet. Then she took a closer look at the *very tall* old man who had stepped out of the door. “You’re not a hobbit.”</p>

<p>The man frowned and looked between the three travelers. “No, I’m not a hobbit - whatever that is. And what are you supposed to be? A traveling wedding circus?”</p>

<p>“Not exactly.” Emilia took it upon herself to be the group’s diplomat. Samantha was usually too blunt and Greg had a habit of accidentally hitting sore spots - especially when Samantha was around. “We,” Emilia motioned to herself and Greg, “were getting married, and she was our maid of honor and best man.” She indicated Samantha.</p>

<p>The man looked at her suspiciously. “And then you came here?”</p>

<p>Emilia nodded - so far the half-truths were sort of working. “Well, we were found by some” She paused looking for the right word. “Enemies of ours, and we were chased into the forest where we lost them. But we got lost and ended up here with no supplies and no food.”</p>

<p>The man grunted. He didn’t seem happy, but he did seem to believe her story. “Well, come in first. I have some leftovers and a few extra beds you can use.”</p>

<p>Samantha was grateful for the food and bed, but felt offended that their host didn't know what a hobbit was. </p>

<p>"Do you have internet? I really need to look something up before I go to sleep. Is that ok?" Samantha asked, as innocently and bashfully as a pretty young woman in a cut-up hot pink dress could .</p>

<p>Their host grunted and led her to an old desktop. Samantha got on the computer and searched the author of her favorite stories, stories about Middle Earth and the Third Age. He existed, but only as a linguist. He didn't write books in this dimension. Samantha internally panicked. She looked up another of her favorite authors. He also didn't write in this dimension. Samantha shut down the computer and took deep breaths to the bedroom the newlyweds were sharing. She listened to be sure that the room was safe to enter and knocked lightly.</p>

<p>Greg opened the door. </p>

<p> "I know why Evil prevails in this dimension!" She burst out.</p>

<p> Greg ushered her in the room. Emilia was sitting up in the bed. Emilia gestured for Samantha to continue.</p>

<p> "J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are not published authors in this dimension. <em>The Hobbit</em>, <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>, and <em>The Chronicles of Narnia</em> don't exist here!"</p>

<p> Her two companions looked blankly at Samantha. Samantha sighed heavily.</p>

<p> "Both of these authors wrote about morality and how war was bad. We need to find out what else is different in this dimension and fast."</p>

<p> ***</p>

<p>It was Monday. Peppa began her quest for the boy and the vows. It did not go well.</p>

<p>Peppa looked for him everywhere, but it seemed like every time she got a glimpse of him, he disappeared. Was he a part of a nefarious plot to steal her sister's vows? To steal Whims' vows?</p>


<h3><strong>22 November 2020</strong></h3>


<p>Corona was sick and tired of people making COVID jokes about her relationship. _________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ____________________________ Corona _________________________________.</p>

<p>Not only did she feel like people were making light of a serious disease, it hurt that she was being compared to a disease. It was like they were saying she was some kind of evil person taking advantage of him rather than a person who truly loved him.</p>

<p>It didn’t help that people had taken to “joking” that they should stay away from her so they wouldn’t get sick._______</p>

<p>Her parents had named her Corona as a wish that she would have a big heart. ______________________________________________________________________ The problem was that while the good feelings got in, the bad ones did too. __________________________________________ Corona _________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>“Run! Corona’s on the loose again!” George, one of her coworkers, called out as she entered the room. Her other coworkers seemed to find his joke hilarious as they all started laughing.</p>

<p>He didn't even have his mask on properly. It covered his mouth, but not his nose, and everyone knew that he had been traveling to an area that got hit hard by COVID cases less than a week ago. He wasn’t even supposed to come into work for another week and a half and until after getting screened. Meanwhile, Corona had her mask on properly, she had been screened and cleared multiple times, the last time just two days ago which, by the way, she had been required to do even through it was less than a week since the last time she was clear because some of the higher ups had heard her coworkers making jokes and thought they were actually concerned about her having COVID.</p>

<p>After work and many more COVID-Corona jokes, Corona was in a terrible mood. ____________________________ went directly home instead, curling up on the couch with a box of tissues.</p>

<p>Maybe what made this the most unbearable was that it was only two months after they had made their vows to each other, to love and cherish each other through life and death, through sickness and health. Maybe what made it worse than that was that she had brought COVID home only a week later and gotten him sick. And it definitely didn’t help that while she was able to recover fully with only mild symptoms (the doctors agreed she was more of a carrier than an exhibitor), he had been hospitalized for a long time. She felt responsible, and the jokes just reinforced that guilt.</p>

<p>While she spiraled down, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and realized she had forgotten to turn the sound back on. She pulled the phone out and saw the caller ID indicated that it was the hospital.</p>

<p>“Hello?”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>“And when I am all alone, I know you will be there, and you will care.” Rhea hummed along with the chorus of one of her favorite songs as she scribbled on a piece of paper. “And when I am in tears, I know you will be there, and you will wipe them away. And when I am excited, I know you will be there, and you will be smiling with me.”</p>

<p>Rhea had been listening to this song since she was little. It had been on a CD she had found tucked into a drawer of the desk in her father’s study. When she asked him about it, he had gotten a far away look in his eyes and turned away mumbling something about needing to feed the dog. It wasn’t until she had told him about her engagement that he finally told her the story.</p>

<p>When he was young, he had met a girl who he thought was the most beautiful person in the world, not because of her freckles (though he found them adorable) or because of her frizzy blonde curls (though he though they were as bright and lively as the sun), but because of her big heart and melodious voice. </p>

<p>The first time they met, he told Rhea, was when the girl fell out of a tree while trying to save a kitten. Thankfully, she hadn’t gotten hurt, though she did hurt his stomach as she fell directly onto him where he had fallen asleep a half hour earlier. Apparently, her climbing hadn’t woken him up because he was a heavy sleeper.</p>

<p>They got to know each other, and he fell head over heels for her, but never quite got up the courage to tell her. He always felt like he wasn’t good enough for her, he had said. And so he had stayed by her side as a close friend as she dated and broke up with several boys, tried, failed, tried again, and eventually made a career as a singer, suffered with a case of depression, almost lost her career, and searched for her own voice again.</p>

<p>_______________________________________ _____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________</p>

<p>He had thought, he explained, that he was destined to hold an unrequited torch for her until his dying breath, but then he heard it. The song that was burned on this CD was the first song the girl sang when she returned to the stage. She had dedicated it to the friend who stood beside her through everything, and when the concert was over, she had asked him if he would go on a date with her.</p>

<p>Two months later, they were married, and a year after that, Rhea was born.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, Rhea’s mother had passed away in a car accident when she was only two years old, but her father had always made sure that she was loved, and now she realized that her mom had been with her too.</p>

<p>“Whatcha workin’ on little lady?” Her father came into the study where she was still busy scribbling away.</p>

<p>“My vows.” She looked up at him. “Do you think he’ll like them?”</p>

<p>“I know he will.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>After having assured Samantha that they would certainly find all the differences between the two worlds they could and that, if possible, they would convince descendants of her two favorite authors to write the masterworks of literature she assured them could save the world, Greg went to ask their host if he could spare some old clothes and a sewing kit. Thankfully, the grumpy old man seemed to be more bark than bite and gave Greg six sets of clothes, a sewing kit that came complete with twenty different colors of thread, and even three knapsacks that he claimed he had no use for anymore ____________________________________________________ He also told Greg to come with him to the pantry after he dropped the clothes and sewing kit off with Em for tailoring.</p>

<p>“You’ll be needin’ food and some other gear if ya want to make it to the city - if you’re going by foot anyway. It’s a seven-hour walk over terrain that you folks don’t look like you’re used to. I’d give you a lift but my mule’s got a busted leg and I don’t much care for automobiles.” The old man explained as he led Greg here and there, grabbing more food than Greg was sure the three could possibly eat during a seven-hour walk - ________________________________ ______________________________________ “Since you’ve got some people after you, it may be wise to stay a little off the path and be ready to get run off.”</p>

<p>So that was it. Greg chuckled to himself. The old man was preparing them for the worst-case scenario even though he could just send them to the city and forget about it. It seemed not everyone in this dimension was evil.</p>

<p>Right when Greg had come to that realization, the old man led him out of the pantry and to another room which seemed to have lots of survival gear - __________________________________________________ ____________________. The old man helped Greg gather ______________________________________ ________________________________ showed him how to use some of the less common gear.</p>

<p>“Thank you, really.” Greg ____________________________</p>

<p>The man grunted. “Yeah, well, you had better get off to bed, then. The sun’ll be rising soon, though you might want to let the ladies sleep in and have a late breakfast before you head out... might mean you have to walk a bit after dark, but that might not be such a bad thing anyway if you’re being tracked.”</p>

<p>Greg nodded, thanked the man again, and made his way back to the room he was sharing with Em. He entered the room to find three roughly tailored outfits (just basic tucks and cuffs were needed to make them fit the three interdimensional travelers) laying on the end of the bed and Em fast asleep with a fourth shirt in her hands where she sat in a wicker chair.</p>

<p>Greg carefully plucked the shirt from her hands and then lifted his wife - ____________________________ - into the bed before climbing under the covers himself.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Elsie paced back and forth impatiently. After years of isolating herself from others to protect them, she was rather starved for affection and had trouble waiting for anyone who was supposed to meet her now that she knew it was safe.</p>

<p>Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long for Juan to come flying in with a blast of cold wind and skid to a halt inches away from crashing into her.</p>

<p>“You’re late.” She stated, trying to sound serious even as she felt a grin tugging at the edge of her lips.</p>

<p>“The hero is always late.” Juan replied swiftly. “It’s more dramatic.</p>

<p>Elsie laughed and kissed his cheek. “If only you were the hero then.”</p>

<p>“You wound me.” Juan stated dramatically, placing his hands over his heart in mock horror before laughing evermore heartily than she had.</p>

<p>****</p>

<p>Corona answered the phone with trepidation. Her hello had been shaky and half-mumbled. It would not take much for her to spiral further down tonight. </p>

<p> "Corona, love, why am I not allowed to see you? I miss you my love," her husband pleaded over the phone.</p>

<p>Corona gave a wet-filled laugh. "I miss you too, Michael."</p>

<p>She hugged her phone closer to her ear. She needed the closeness of his voice to help her through the night. Not being able to go to the hospital made her feel like she was breaking her vows to be with him through better or worse. She understood why she couldn't be there, but her brain knowing and understanding didn't stop her heart from hurting. </p>

<p>They talked. They talked like they used to do at the beginning of their relationship. They talked about nonsense. They talked about future plans. They talked, not caring about the phone bill they were going to be charged with on top of any hospital expenses. They talked about everything except for one's guilt of getting her husband sick.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>_______________________<br/>
____ Grace __________________<br/>
__________________________________<br/>
____________________________<br/>
____ Grace ___ Michael __________</p>

<p>_______________________<br/>
____________________________________<br/>
______________________________________<br/>
___________________________________<br/>
______________ Grace ___ Grace _____</p>

<p>________________Grace_____________<br/>
_______________________________<br/>
_________________________________<br/>
_______________________________<br/>
_________________________________</p>

<p>_______________________________<br/>
_________________________________<br/>
_______________________________<br/>
_________________________________<br/>
_________________________________</p>

<p>***<br/>
Scarlet laughed to herself as she skipped away from the hideout carrying all of the green clothes that had been stored there after leaving behind lots of red garments in varying shades (heavy on the crimsons). She laughed all the way to the forest edge on the Yorkingdale side (away from Hamnoten where the wedding was taking place). She laughed all the way through the streets and into the tailor’s shop where she plopped down the large pile of green fabric and called for the tailor to come and make a purchase.</p>

<p>_______________</p>

<p>Mr. Plumb.</p>

<p>He was a tall, bookish man always wearing spectacles with reddish, brown hair of such a hue that it almost seemed purplish - a color further emphasized by his clothing which was all shades of deep purples from burgundy to wine to eggplant. He was studious and careful with his measurements. He was in many ways an opposite to Scarlet’s flashy and fiery carefree nature.</p>

<p>And Scarlet was fascinated by him.</p>

<p>_______________________________________ _____________________ ______________ _________________________________________ ____________ ___________________ Mr. Plumb ________________</p>

<p>“Ah, Lady Scarlet, you are here again.” Mr. Plumb greeted her.</p>

<p>Scarlet leaned against the counter, trying to look as relaxed and nonchalant as possible. “Yep.” She grinned cockily.___________________________</p>

<p>Mr. Plumb began fingering one of the shirts, then some leggings, taking stock of what articles of clothing there were in what size and what number. “Fine quality as always.” ______________ _____________________ ________ “Though I always wonder why the clothing you trade in comes only in Abraham Green.”</p>

<p>Scarlet playfully put a finger to her lips and winked.______________</p>

<p>Mr. Plumb chuckled. ____ _________________________ _____________________ ______ ____________ __________</p>

<p>________Scarlet gazed at the rather dense man ___________________. She had given him so many hints in the past three years.</p>

<p>A look crossed Mr. Plumb’s face that Scarlet had seen many times yet she was still unable to interpret. She called it his puzzler face because she usually saw it when he was contemplating something. She had grown so fond of this face that she occasionally brought ridiculous riddles to him claiming she had gotten into a bet about whether she could solve them or not and was going to be in trouble if she showed up without the answer.</p>

<p>Wouldn’t you know that he solved every single one?</p>

<p>She wondered what he was puzzling over now.</p>

<p>****</p>

<p>"__________________________ ____________________________ ____________________ _____________________________ _______________ ______________________________ ____ </p>

<p>_________________________________ __________________________________________ ____________________ ___________________________________ </p>

<p>_________________________________________________________________ ___________ _________</p>

<p>__________________________ ____________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________ _____________________________ _______________ ______________________________ _________________</p>

<p> ****</p>

<p>Peppa didn't see the boy or the encoded vows the rest of the week during the school day. She was getting more frantic and her brain was churning out idea after horrifying idea about what the mysterious boy was doing with the vows.</p>

<p>Peppa had to go to her locker after debate team practice Friday afternoon. She opened her locker for a note to fall out of it. She examined the note to see if she recognized the handwriting. She didn't. 'It must be from the boy!' She thought, completely forgetting her math homework in her haste to open the note. </p>

<p>She ripped the note from its intricate fold. The folding was beautiful, but Peppa had no patience for it. </p>

<p>The note was the beginning of a scavenger hunt. The end result would put the vows in her hands. </p>

<p>Peppa was furious. When she found this boy...well, not his things were going to happen!</p>

<p>She stalked off to where the first clue told her to go. The clue was easy. Getting the next four wasn't. Peppa thinks the boy forgot how tall she was because the next clue was on top of the school mascot's hat. Funnily enough, her sister's graduating class had gifted the statue to the school. </p>

<p>It took Peppa a little while to get the second clue, but the second clue only tempered her rage slightly. It directed her to the baseball diamond, on the opposite side of campus. The cooling part of the clue was the reassurance that the pages (aka the vows) were perfectly intact and waiting at the end of this hunt.</p>


<h3><strong>23 November 2020</strong></h3>

“Herewrit are the vows of one Stephanie Greich for her wedding to one Frian Delsan.” Grishna announced as he held a few pages in the air, just high enough for both warring factions to see. “Also, herewrit” He held up a few more pages in his other hand “are the vows of one Frian Delsan for his wedding to one Stephanie Greich.”

<p>It seemed, for a moment, as if neither side had heard him, but just as he was about to repeat what he had said louder, the fighting stopped as nearly every person froze, then turned to face Grishna with jaws dropped and eyes round.</p>

<p>“What’d ya say boy?” Frian’s father shook himself out of his stupor and asked. It irked him that the man insisted on calling him a boy as he was already thirty years old - and happily married with two children running about and another on the way.</p>

<p>“I think you heard me just fine, old man.” Perhaps antagonizing him wasn’t the best choice, but Grishna couldn’t resist. “Now, if you would all indulge me for a moment, I will explain how I came to have these in my possession.”</p>

<p>“But how do we know ya ain’t pullin’ our leg?” That was Ren Delsan, Frian’s older brother and hot-head extraordinaire. “Ya could be holdin’ up your grocery list for all we know.”</p>

<p>“Patience, and I will prove to you what I hold is what I claim it to be.” Grishna knew patience was largely an unheard of quality for the Greich and Delsan families. </p>

<p>“This ‘ad better not be a joke.” Endil Griech, Stephanie’s cousin rejoined. “Or you ain’t gonna be to happy we’re ‘having patience’ with ya now.”</p>

<p>Grishna swallowed hard. Sure, he was telling the truth, but that was still a threat that he didn’t like. He shook himself to dislodge any lingering discomfort and began telling the story of the century.</p>

<p>“It all started one billion years ago, when-”</p>

<p>“Hey, hey, hey!” Stepahnie’s uncle interrupted. “Our Stephani and that Delsan whelp weren’t even born yet one billion years ago!”</p>

<p>“No,” Grishna conceded, “but their story begins then nonetheless.” He sighed as several threats were thrown in his general direction. This was going to be a long day. “The Ancient Deities still walked the earth at the time, as you know, and among them were Shinan, Goddess of Harvest, and Ferinei, God of Famine. Two opposing forces constantly at war with one another.”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Mr. Plumb knew Scarlet liked him. She had been rather obvious about it. And he liked her too. He had tried to tell her as much on numerous occasions - like when he wondered aloud about who would be lucky enough to unravel the secrets around her or that time he had offered to escort her home because it was rather late and a young woman shouldn’t be out so late by herself since it wasn’t safe. Somehow, though, it just came off as him being a nice guy.</p>

<p>He sighed.</p>

<p>Scarlet watched him intently as he counted the Abraham green clothes and totalled how much he would pay for them - which was more than any other tailor would probably spend on such a large quantity on Abraham green clothing considering few people bought such clothes in bulk. Still, he knew this was Scarlet’s excuse for seeing him all the time. Well, that and purchasing an equivalent amount of red clothes about a week after selling the green ones. It was a routine he was accustomed to at this point,______________________________________________ _____________________________ _________________________________________ Scarlet’s ______________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________</p>

<p>While he worked - as slowly as possible without looking foolish - Mr. Plumb occupied his time with a casual conversation with Scarlet. When she left, smiling as widely as ever, he closed the shop for the day - it was a town holiday in Yorkingdale and all the other shops were closed and no one would be coming by, but today was the day that Scarlet usually appeared, so he had kept the shop open until after she left.</p>

<p>_________</p>

<p>When would he be able to tell her?</p>

<p>Mr. Plumb began milling through the vows he was planning for the wedding that, he assured himself, he would one day have with Scarlet.</p>

<p>‘I vow to tell you everyday how much I love you. I vow to honor and cherish you forever.’ Those were the core vows that all the others were centered on. ______________________________ ______________________________________ _____________________________________ ______________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ He had vows about just about everything.</p>

<p>And he was too nervous to say even one of them aloud.</p>

<p>****<br/>
Peppa's walk to the baseball diamond was long and tiring. Debate practice had run late and she knew that she was free until her parent-imposed curfew of nine, but this cut into her all over binder obsession/fantasy time that she liked to have every day. </p>

<p>The long walk allowed her to fantasize about her future vows and the potential man she wants to marry. Waay off in the future. </p>

<p>The diamond is lit up, like someone just turned the field lights on. 'Now which dugout did he mean?' She ponders before rereading the clue. </p>

<p>"____________________________________________________ ______________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________," Peppa read aloud. "Now which is the home bench?"</p>

<p> Peppa was not into sports much, and doesn't know how the dugouts are set up. She looked at each one. One had the mascot on it! That must be the home team's dugout! She breathed out a heavy relieved breath and stumbled her way into the dugout.</p>

<p>She looked under the bench and found a series of small cubbies. She found a piece of paper, folded similarly to the first ones in the third cubby down. </p>

<p>She opened it up to find this: ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________.'</p>

<p> "What does this mean?!" She screamed.</p>

<p> ****</p>

<p>Shinan had a child. This child began the Greich family line. It was named the Greich line for the family that fostered the Child of Harvest began to have great bountiful harvests. To honor their goddess, they incorporated great into the family name of Lich and named the Child, Nash Greich.</p>

<p>Ferinei was jealous at Shinan's ability to have progeny and blessed a different child to be his own. Ferinei's child began the Delsan clan. The child he blessed helped reduce the great bountiful harvests the newly named Greich family had. </p>

<p>The Greich family did not know about the Child of Famine and pleaded with their goddess to save their harvests. Shinan discovered Ferinei's plan and told her followers to kill the Child of Famine.</p>

<p>Ferinei chose his Child well. This child was the only child to survive outside the womb. His mother had many difficult pregnancies and his father refused to try for more children after their miracle was born. The Child of Famine's parents would kill for their child to live. </p>

<p>When Shinan gave her edict, the Greich family's eldest son, Wil, sent out to accomplish the task. He did not return to the farm. The father of Wil went to find his son. He encountered the Famine Child's birth father and he told what happened to Wil. Wil's father pleaded for Neis to be lying and to kill his beloved child. Neis refused to kill his son, Iref. Neis was slain where he stood.</p>

<p>The Greich father went home, grieving his eldest child. He announced to the family what had happened. </p>

<p>Iref waited for his father to come home. An additional day after he was to be home, Iref and his mother went searching for him. They found his body near where Neis had buried the man that tried to kill Iref. Neis' body lay on top of the ground, motionless and left like an eaten apple core, sitting out to rot.</p>

<p>This infuriated Iref and his mother. They prayed to Ferinei and Ferinei guided them away from their home. He told his blessed child to marry well and bring many children into the world. Ferinei told Iref that the Greich family was large, so he had to build his family up to rival them.</p>

<p>Both families swore vengeance on their slain members.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Risa didn’t know what to do.</p>

<p>She had spent days working on her vows. After starting over at least a hundred times, she had finally managed to write what she felt were the perfect vows. She had lost sleep and skipped meals in order to write them. </p>

<p>And now they were gone. GONE.</p>

<p>It was only one hour before her wedding, and her vows were nothing but a wet pile of ashes in the fireplace. </p>

<p>“So, what will you do now?” The cocky voice grated on her nerves.</p>

<p>“You don’t really think burning my vows would stop me from marrying him.”</p>

<p>“No.” The woman replied. “I think locking you in this room will stop you.”</p>

<p>“Just try it.” Risa spat. “You won’t make it to the door.”</p>

<p>The woman laughed. “As if I’d be that dumb.”</p>

<p>Risa’s heart sank. She ran to the door.</p>

<p>It was locked.</p>

<p>“I told you.” The woman chided. “And don’t bother picking the lock - there are obstacles on the other side of the door to prevent it from opening. A magician couldn’t even get in here.”</p>

<p>This was bad. They were in a central sitting room with no windows and only the one door. Even if the walls were breakable, which they weren’t, the rooms on the three sides that weren’t the hallway outside the door were the treasury, the dungeon, and her father’s office - the three most heavily protected chambers in the house built in such a way that someone who breaks in cannot break out. There were only a few people in the house right now, and the walls were thick so no one would hear her call for help. Even if there was a fire in the fireplace, it would only be foolhardy to set the room on fire, nor would threatening her captor’s life help. Even though she was stronger and would definitely win, there was no doubt in her mind that woman would sooner die than let this wedding happen.</p>

<p>“Well, shall we enjoy a nice cup of tea?” The woman questioned, taking a nonchalant seat on the sofa.</p>

<p>Risa glared.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>__________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________ ________________________________ ______________________</p>

<p>____</p>

<p>__________________</p>

<p>_______________</p>

<p>_______________</p>

<p>____</p>

<p>_________________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________________ ________________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________ ___________________________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>___________________</p>

<p>______________________________________ _____________________________________ ______________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________ _______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _______________________ ____________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________________ ________________ ____________________________________________ ________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ ___</p>

<p>__________________________________</p>

<p>___</p>

<p>_____________________________</p>

<p>_________________________________________ __________________________________ ______________________________________________________ _____________________ _______________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________ _____________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________</p>

<p>_________________________ ________________________________________ _________ ______________________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________ _________________________________ _______________ _________________________________ _________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ____________________________ _____________________________________________ ______________________________ _________________________________ __________________________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>________________________</p>

<p>_________________________________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________ _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________ ____________________________________</p>

<p>_________________________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________</p>


<h3><strong>24 November 2020</strong></h3>


<p>Iref followed what Ferinei told him and began to create his family. He married well and created an alliance with a clan named Delsan. As stipulated in the marriage contract, Iref was to take the family name. </p>

<p>Iref and the rest of the Delsan clan moved to his former home near the Greich family. Iref and the Delsans began their assault on the Greich family.</p>

<p>Shinan told her son that the Child of Famine was back. Nash informed the rest of the family and the feud truly began. </p>

<p>The other gods and goddesses were unhappy with this feud being spread to the humans. Shinan and Ferinei were reprimanded and ordered to stay away from their children. Shinan and Ferinei were infuriated and confined by the others in their pantheon’s meddling. </p>

<p>Many years later, Shinan and Ferinei were told that their quarreling would end in a marriage. Both deities scoffed and cited all of the instances of vengeance between the families. Piyeen, the Goddess of Love, promised the two warring deities that she would have her way and the humans would stop fighting. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>After Peppa screamed loud enough for people in the next county to hear her, she sat on the bench and thought. She sorted through all the water places in the school-there were none. Then she mentally moved for all the water places in town. After she eliminated each one, she remembered the dry creek bed that always had water in it in the spring. </p>

<p>“Where’s the biggest swell of water on the creek? I’ve got to get the vows back!”</p>

<p>25 November 2020<br/>
______________________________ ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ </p>

<p>_________, Laurena ________________________________ _________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________ _______________________________</p>

<p>_________ Laurena ________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ __________________ _______________________________Laurena ______________________________ ___ _______________________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________________Laurena____________ _________ __________ </p>

<p>_____________________ Laurena ______________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________________ ________________________ ______________________________ </p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ __________________  _____________________________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ________________________________________________ _______</p>

<p>________________________________________________ _______</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________ </p>

<p>_________________________________________ ______________________________ ________________________________________________ _______ </p>

<p>_____________, Laurena___________________________________________________  _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ______________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ _________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _________________</p>

<p>____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ _________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _____________</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ________________ </p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________ ________________________</p>

<p>_________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________________</p>

<p>____________________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________ ________________________ </p>

<p>_____________ Laurena.” Kyle’s_____________________________________________ _________________________________ ________________</p>

<p>___r Laurena ____________________________________ ________ Kyle___________ _______________ Laurena’s________________________________________________ _____________________________ _____________________r Laurena _____________ _____________ Laurena ___________________________________________________ _______ Laurena__________________________________________________________ ____________________ Kyle________________________________________________ ____________ Kyle ____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ __________________________________________ __________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________________ Laurena ______________________ ______________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>It was half past noon when Samantha and the two professors woke up and had brunch with the grumpy old man before leaving for town. ___________________________________________ _______ Samantha____________________________________________________ ___________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ __________________________________________ __________ _____</p>

<p>Yes, the clothes she was wearing now were a little out of style, considering they were a farmer’s clothes tailored ____________________________________________________ ___________________ ________</p>

<p>__________________________________ Professor Dlaun ________________________ __________________</p>

<p>______________________________ __________________________________________</p>

<p>Samantha ______________________________ __________________________ _________________________ Professor Xoi ____________________________________ ___________________________________ _________________________________________ ______________________________ __________________________________________</p>

<p>__________________________________</p>

<p>After saying their farewells, the trio of interdimensional travelers set off on the seven or so hour walk that it would take them to reach the nearest town. They stayed to the road since their pursuers had not, _______________________________ Professor Dlaun’s _____________ ______________, followed them into the forest - those annoying people in lab coats were all back in Hawaii ______________________________ ___________________________ _______________ </p>

<p>Thankfully, the only direct threat in New Zealand so far was dying of hunger which was unlikely now that they had supplies from the old man. Even without money, they could live off the land for quite a while with Samantha’s ______________________________________</p>

<p>________________________ Professor Dlaun ___________________</p>

<p>Professor Xoi nodded. “ ____________________________________ ______________ _____________________ _________________________________________ ________ __________.”</p>

<p>Samantha shuddered as she realized what Professor Xoi meant. ___________________ _________________ ______________ _________________________________________ ________ __________ Samantha was still creeped out about ___________________ _________________ ______________ _________________________</p>

<p>_________________ ______________ ________________________It was even creepier than when that weird mark was on Professor Dlaun’s forehead and started glowing every other minute and shooting black tendrils all over the place. At least that wasn’t a living being with consciousness.</p>

<p>She paused.</p>

<p>_________________ ______________ ________________________</p>

<p>Nope. Samantha stopped herself from thinking about that any more. She was so not going there.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>_____________</p>

<p>Alu’vien _____________________________ Vales ___________________________ _________ ___________________________________ ______________________________ ___________ __________</p>

<p>__________________</p>

<p>_________ ___________________________________ ______________________________ _________ ___________________________________ _________, Vales. _________ _____ ______________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>_________ ___________________________________ ______________</p>

<p>_________ ___________________________________ _______________________________ ________ ___________________</p>

<p>____________</p>

<p>_________ ___________________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>Fable had said “write from your heart.” Alu’vien was never very good at that.</p>

<p>Ramändel had said something similar and yet contradictory… that was fairly typical.</p>

<p>Thelion was too drunk to get an answer from.</p>

<p>Celaena told her to say something about how honored he should feel that he, a captain of the guard, was marrying her, the Lady of the Elves. (Well, at least she finally approved of the marriage.)</p>

<p>Coivië stared at her blankly, laughed, and said, “you really don’t want me to help you. Besides, you know why you love him better than I do.” Then she paused for a moment with the most thoughtful look on her face that Alu’vien had ever seen and added, “then again, I’ll help you.” Unfortunately, at that moment, Magi came and pulled her away for Queen lessons.</p>

<p>She didn’t even bother asking Nala.</p>

<p>_______________________ Alu’vien _________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________  ______________________________</p>

<p>She sighed and went to ask Taliesin to tell her a story to take her mind off things. _________ _________ ___________________________________ ______________________________ _________ ___________________________________ ______________________________ </p>

<p>“Ah, Lady Alu’vien, what brings you to the library?”</p>

<p>“I’ve told you a thousand times to just call me Alu’vien.” She answered. “You are several millennia older than I am.”</p>

<p>Taliesin chuckled lightly_________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ ______________________________.”</p>

<p>Alu’vien smiled. _________ ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________</p>

<p>__________Taliesin_________ ___________________________________ ____________ __________________ “You never answered my question.”</p>

<p>Alu’vien _________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ ______________________________ Taliesin -____________________________________ _________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ ______________________________ Ramändel and Fable ____________________________ _________ ___________________________________ _______________________________ ________ ___________________________________ ____________________________ ___________ ___________________________________ _____________</p>

<p>“I am avoiding my duties.” Alu’vien spoke at length.</p>

<p>Taliesin raised an eyebrow. “Oh, this is quite rare. _________________________</p>

<p>Alu’vien shuffled her feet a moment before muttering under her breath. “Writing my wedding vows.”</p>

<p>Of course, even if she had meant for Taliesin not to hear her reply, his keen Elven ears picked up her words.</p>

<p>He chuckled again. “________________</p>

<p>___________ Alu’vien replied. “_____________________________________ “However, I am utterly stuck.”</p>

<p>“You, the Great Orator of your generation?” Taliesin questioned. _________________ ___________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>“Yet another title I wish you would stop using.” Alu’vien placed a hand to her forehead. “And yes, me. Vows and motivational speeches are different.”</p>

<p>Taliesin nodded. “Yes, though they share some basic elements. ____________________________________ __________________________________ ____________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _____________ ___________________________________ ______________________________”</p>

<p>Alu’vien ___________________________________________________</p>

<p>Taliesin __________________________________________________</p>

<p>“_________________________________________________________.</p>

<p>Taliesin chuckled again. “Maybe so.</p>

<p>___________________________________ ______________________________ Taliesin’s ________.</p>

<p>“Would you tell me a story?” _________________________________________________ _________________________ _____________________________________.</p>

<p>“Certainly.” Taliesin replied, signaling for her to take a seat in their usual story spot. “_____ _________________ “Today I will tell you of Gwedui - the last bond.”<br/>
***</p>

<p>Peppa figured out where the creek swells the most in the spring. It swells the man-made lake by the golf course. ‘It is a romantic spot… And if she remembers correctly that is where Whims took Paige on their first date! Didn’t Whims mention it in his vows?’</p>

<p>Peppa stopped her train of thought with a light smack of her palm to her forehead. “That boy is going to get me into trouble!” She muttered. </p>

<p>Peppa had a possible idea for how to get to the golf course lake, but had no idea how she would explain her need of a ride to the lake to anyone who could drive her there. Public transportation did not exist in this town, so calling for a ride or walking were her best bets. And Peppa was tired of walking. </p>

<p>Peppa quickly dialed Whims’ number. She figured he would be the one member that wouldn’t make her play twenty questions about going to the lake. Peppa knew she was only delaying the inevitable interrogation via her sister and mother, but she’ll take any reprieve she can get. </p>

<p>Whims picked up on the third ring. </p>

<p>“Hello?” He answered. </p>

<p>“Whims? It’s Peppa-”</p>

<p>“Peppa! My future little sis! How’s it hanging?”</p>

<p>“It’s going...okay.”</p>

<p>“Just okay?”</p>

<p>“Yeah. It would get better with you picking me up and taking me somewhere I need to go,” she paused and quickly finished. “I can’t walk there and get home in time for curfew. Will you please help me Whims? You’re my only hope!”</p>

<p>Peppa desperately threw out that last line in hopes that the nerdy Whims would be swayed to helping her. </p>

<p>His voice turned serious. “Peppa, I will pick you up in ten minutes. Are you still at school?”</p>

<p>“Yeah,” she replied softly. She was awed at how serious Whims turned. She had never seen this side of him before. </p>

<p>“I’ll meet you at the flagpole.” He hung up with a click.<br/>
Peppa stood up slowly from the bench. She was stunned by Whims’ behavior. Then she began to run back to the front of the school. It took her fifteen minutes to walk to the baseball diamond earlier. She wasn’t sure if running would get her back in ten.</p>

<p>She reached the flagpole out of breath and somehow before she saw Whims’ car. His car wasn’t very distinguishable; many people in town owned a white four-door sedan, except that it was twilight and there was maybe one car left from the school day in the parking lot. </p>

<p>She saw headlights approaching where the flagpole was helping to support her out-of-breath self. The car screeched to a stop directly in front of her.</p>

<p>The window rolled down. Whims called out to her, “Your chariot awaits Peppa! Get in and buckle up.”</p>

<p>Peppa tossed her backpack into the backseat and buckled her seatbelt in the front passenger seat. </p>

<p>“Where do we need to go?”</p>

<p>“The golf course lake,” Peppa replied lowly.</p>

<p>Whims eyed her suspiciously. “Why-never mind. Not my business. I don’t want to invite conflict between Paige and I right now.”</p>

<p>“Thank you Whims. I really appreciate this.” </p>

<p>Peppa stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. When Whims reached the golf course parking lot, he didn’t stop to let her out, he parked. </p>

<p>“What are you doing?” she asked. </p>

<p>“I’m parking the car because you are a nice girl, Peppa. You think the best of everybody and I will not let you meet someone here without meeting them first.” Whims sounded like her dad. It was both odd and reassuring.</p>

<p>Peppa considered his opinion and spoke, “I don’t think I’m meeting anyone here. I lost something the other day and am now in a scavenger hunt for clues to find it.” She sighed heavily. “I really hope I get it back today.”</p>

<p>“What did you lose Peppa?”</p>

<p>Peppa stared wide-eyed at Whims, making him chuckle. He put his hands up to indicate that he was backing off of questioning her. “I get it, no more questions.” He paused. “What was your clue?”</p>

<p>“It was about finding the next clue where the water swells. I logically concluded that the creek swells up and helps fill the lake every year.”</p>

<p>“Are you sure the clue meant the lake? We do live really close to the ocean, you know,” he asked her, making her spell out the exact reasons why the golf course lake made more sense than the ocean.</p>

<p>“I concede! Let’s walk over to the lake bridge and see if your next clue is hiding there.”</p>

<p>They calmly walked to the lake. Peppa looked and acted calm, but she was not calm. Her hands began to shake slightly and she knew her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. She prayed, both wishing for the vows to be there and for there to be another clue. She liked matching wits with this boy.</p>

<p>The bridge was gorgeous. Peppa never had a reason to visit this place before, but she now had a new favorite place to think. The bridge was an arched wooden bridge, painted white and the pathway was lit with small lights built into the bridge’s arching handholds. There was a willow nearby, gorgeous with blooming flowers and lights below its long green leaves. She mused that the boy was making her expand her environments; she wasn’t sure she liked it. </p>

<p>She insisted to Whims that she be the only one to search the bridge. There was nothing there. She searched all over the bridge a second and third time, each repetitive search making her shaking hands and beating heart worse. These searches also added the new symptom of babbling frantically at Whims.</p>

<p>Whims came onto the bridge. He anchored her to one spot on the bridge with his hands on her shoulders. “Peppa, what exactly are you looking for?”</p>

<p>“A note. I’m looking for a note. It-it’s folded an-and pretty-” she hiccupped through the tears now streaming down her cheeks. </p>

<p>“Breathe Peppa!” Whims shouted with a little shake to her.</p>

<p>Peppa breathed deeply. </p>

<p>“Better?”</p>

<p>Peppa nodded her head. </p>

<p>“Now, tell me again, slower, okay?” </p>

<p>“Okay,” she replied, barely audible to him. “The note should be folded in a fancy fold. The fold is really easy to undo, but I don’t know how to fold it that way. I left the other notes in my backpack. I was so set on getting the notes-”</p>

<p>“Peppa, you didn’t know.” He looked at her searchingly. “Do you mind if I look for you right now?”</p>

<p>She shook her head no.</p>


<h3><strong>26 November 2020</strong></h3>

___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________________________ ______________________________________ Eren _______________________________ _______________________________________ Prince Rianelor Erenevel Lunifever Eldensi Lu Vastian, the first prince of Vastian, fourth child of the Lu Vastian royal family, and also fourth in line to the throne. ___________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________

<p>_______ Eren___________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________________ Eren, _______________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ Valcrisi,_______________________________________________ Trialla Ravalen Crisali Lu Frinsil, last born of Baron Lu Frinsil___________________________________ _______________________ _________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________ _____________________________________Trialla___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ Trialla __________________________ _________ _______________________________________________ _________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>_________________ Trialla ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ________________Trialla___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ Lu Frinsil ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ Trialla ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ </p>

<p>It had been when Trialla and the prince were around six years of age that they met in Elesium for the first time. _________Triallla ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ Eren’s ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ Valcrisi _____________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ______________ Eren __________________ </p>

<p>__________________________________ Eren ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  </p>

<p>Trialla ______________________________ Eren ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ _________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _________________________________ </p>

<p>_____________________________________ ___________________________________ __ Valcrisi ________________________ Trialla.</p>

<p>Eren _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________ </p>

<p>______________________________ Eren ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>Trialla _________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________</p>

<p>___________________________________  Trialla’s ___________________________ __________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________ ______________________________________________ __________________________ ____________________________ </p>

<p>___________ Eren _____________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ ___________________________ Eren’s _____________________________________ _____________________________ </p>

<p>Trialla _____________________________________ _____________________ ______________ _________________. </p>

<p>Eren _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________________________</p>

<p>_____________ Trialla _________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________________________ </p>

<p>___________________ Trialla Ravalen Crisali Lu Valcrisi, ________ Valcrisi, ____________ _____________________________________ Lu Frinsi _____________________________ Prince Rianelor Erenevel Lunifever Eldensi Lu Vastian, _______________ Vastian, _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>_____________________________________ ___________________________________  _____________________________________ _____________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ ___________________________________ _______ Gwedui. Gwedui _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________</p>

<p>_________________________ Gwedui _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________  </p>

<p>¬¬¬¬______________ Gwedui _____________________________ _____________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ __________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________ ______________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________ Gwedui.</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ______________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ______</p>

<p>___________________________________ ____________________________</p>

<p>______________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _______________________ Gwedui ______ _____________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>Gwedui ___________________________________ ____________________________ _________ ___________________________________ _______________________________ ______ ___________________________________ ________________________________ _____ ___________________________________ ___________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>_________ Gwedui ______ ___________________________________ ________________ _______________ _____ _______________________________ ________________________  ____________ Gwedui ___________________________________ ________________ _______________ ______ ___________________________________ _____________ ___________________ _____ ___________________________________ ______________ _____________________  </p>

<p>_______________ ______ ___________________________________ _____________ ___________________ _____ ___________________________________ ______________ _____________________</p>

<p>_______________ ______ ___________________________________ _____________ ___________________ _____ _______________________________ Gwedui _______________ ______ ___________________________________ _____________ ___________________  Gwedui ____________________ ________________ _______________ ______ ___________________________________ _____________ ___________________ _____ ___________________________________ ______________</p>

<p>___________________ _____ __________________ Gwedui’s _________ ______________ Gwedui ____________ _____ __________________  Gwedui ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  Gwedui’s ___________ Gwedui ___________________________ ______________________ _______________ Gwedui ___________________________________ ________________ _____________________  ___________________________________ ______________ _______________________ Gwedui ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _________________________________</p>

<p>Gwedui ___________________________________ _____________________________ ________ ___________________________________ ____________________________ _________  ___________________________________ _________________ ____________________ ___________________________________ ___________ __________________________ ___________________________________</p>

<p>______ Gwedui’s ______ ___________________________________ Gwedui ___________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ </p>

<p>****</p>

<p>Whims looked over the bridge. He looked in little hiding places that Peppa would have never found without him.</p>

<p>“How did you know that people hid things right there?” she asked, drawing Whims’ focus away from his search.</p>

<p>“My brother and Paige always left notes for me if I was running late or they had to leave unexpectedly.</p>

<p>“What brother?”</p>

<p>Whims sighed in disbelief. I can’t believe-you know what I can.” He stood to his full height and told Peppa about his family’s secret. “You’re my little sister, right? You need to know that you have two older brothers that have your back, not just me.”</p>

<p>Whims told her that his parents disowned his twin because he was gay. “So he loves a guy, who cares? But they did,” he shook his head, disgusted by his parents’ behavior. “He is still going to be my best man and his boyfriend should be coming too.”</p>

<p>Peppa’s jaw dropped. She thought his parents were really open-minded. “How could they do that to their son?”</p>

<p>“I don’t know, Peppa. I just don’t know.” His response clued her in that she had accidentally spoken aloud. </p>

<p>Whims resumed his search but came up empty. </p>

<p>“Maybe this isn’t where the waters swell, Peppa.”</p>

<p>****</p>

<p>Piyeen worked tirelessly behind Shinan’s and Ferinei’s backs to create a love connection between the Greich and Delsan families. ___________________________________ ______ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ________. </p>

<p>Grishna thought to himself as he told this part of the story, ’There is no way that this feud will end easily with this marriage. It might reignite a new one soon by the looks of their faces.’</p>

<p>Piyeen decided to be patient. Every half-millennia or so, she would check in on the feuding families (she had to deal with Shinan and Ferinei more often in the Pantheon Council). She checked to see if they were closer to being able to stop fighting with each other yet. _________ Piyeen ___________________________________ ____________________________ _________  ___________________________________ _________________  she saw what match would be the most beneficial between the families. </p>

<p>It took until three years ago for Piyeen to finally succeed. Three years ago, Stephanie and Frian met. They had no idea of each other’s last name or why their parents had sent them off to boarding school so far from home. They met in their second year of secondary school in maths. Stephanie was rather gifted in maths; Frian could do maths, but it wasn’t his favorite subject. </p>

<p>Frian had gotten stuck on a certain concept and asked his teacher to help him with a tutor. The teacher suggested Stephanie. They began talking in their tutoring sessions and became friends. Then Stephanie found out Frian’s last name and began to yell at him. </p>

<p>She screamed that he was evil and wrong and despicable and so was his entire rotten family. Frian asked what was so wrong with his family.</p>

<p>“You’re a Delsan,” she spat, glaring heatedly at him.</p>

<p>“And your point is?”</p>

<p>“I’m a Greich.”</p>

<p>“Oh,” his dumbfounded look and mild cursing that followed her revelation put him off… for about five minutes. </p>

<p>“Stephanie,” he began, “have I ever acted like what your family believes a Delsan is like?”</p>

<p>Stephanie had to think hard on this. Her answer surprised her. “No, you haven’t.”</p>

<p>“__________________________ Greich __________________ “Maybe this feud is getting out of hand?”</p>

<p>Stephanie ___________________________ _________ Greich _______.</p>

<p>“Well, basically what your family told you about mine is the same that I was told about yours.”</p>

<p>She nodded and they got back to their tutoring session. </p>

<p>During the next year, they became closer and fell in love. After they graduated earlier this year, Frian asked Stephanie to marry him. She agreed, but they both swore to keep their love a secret until they were married. </p>

<p>In their vows, they swore to end the fighting between their families. </p>

<p>“______________” Grishna a_________________. “Because I married them. ___________ Piyeen, _____________________________________ _________________________ __________”</p>

<p>27 November 2020<br/>
______________________________ ______ Ger’anu _____________________ Kiru’s _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>_________________ Kiru?” Ger’anu _____________________________________  ________ ___________________________</p>

<p>“Grandpa.” Kiru _____________________________________  ________________________ ___________</p>

<p>_______________________ Josan ___________________________________ __________ ___________________________ ___________________________________ ____________ _________________________  ___________________________________ ____________ _________________________ ___________________________________ ____________ _________________________ ___________________________________ </p>

<p>_________________________ _________________ Kiru’s ____________ ____________ _________________________ ___________________________________ ____________ ______________ Ger’anu.</p>

<p>________________ Kiru.” ______________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  </p>

<p>_________________” Ger-anu froze at Kiru’s ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ Kiru ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________  Kiru _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________</p>

<p>________________ Mama Kana later.” Kiru ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ __ Kiru ___________________________ __________ ________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _______________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________________ ________ Ger’anu pulled Kiru _____________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ___________ __________________________ ___________________________________ </p>

<p>______ Kiru’s _______ ___________________________________  Mama Kana _________ ____________________________ ___________________________________ _________ ____________________________  ___________________________________ ________ _____________________________ ___________________________________ ________ _____________________________ ___________________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________ _________ Koran, _______ Kiru ______________ ______________ </p>

<p>____________________________  ___________________________________ ________ _____________________________ ___________________________________ ________ ___________________________</p>

<p>______________________ Kiru’_________ ___________________________________ ________</p>

<p>_________ Kiru.” ___________________________________ __________________________ ___________ ___________________________________ ___________ __________________________ ___________________________________ ___________ __________________________  ___________________________________ ____________ _________________________ ___________________________________ ____________ _________________________  Father Mikal _______________________________</p>

<p>Kiru ____________________ ___________________________________ ___________ ________</p>

<p>________ Ger’anu _________________________ ___________________________________ ___________ __________________________  ___________________________________ ____________ _________________________ ___________________________________ _________________________  Koran __________________________ ______________ _____________________ ___________ __________________________  ___________ ________________________ ____________ _________________________ ___________ ________________________ ____________ _________________________</p>

<p>_________________ Kiru _______</p>

<p>____________________ Ger’anu __________________________ _____________ ______________________ ___________ __________________________  _____________ ______________________ ____________ _________________________ ___________ ________________________ ____________ _________________________  </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Sulan reread Lanalia’s ______________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _______</p>

<p>___________________________________ __________________________ Lanalia ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________  </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________ Lanalia ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _______</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>If you stumble in the dark, I will bring you the sun. If you shiver in the cold, I will wrap you in a warm embrace. If you cry, I will wipe the tears from your eyes. If you are unable to fall asleep, I will sing you a lullaby. If a nightmare plagues you, I will hold your hand and drive it away. If you fall, I will catch you. If you are hurt, I will do everything I can to make the hurt go away. If you need someone to listen, I will be all ears. If you need company, I will provide it. If you long for adventure, I will take you to find one. If enemies come to find you, I will stand by your side to face them. If good things happen, I will celebrate with you. All these things I will do because I love you.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _______________________.</p>

<p>***<br/>
___________________________________ ________ Alu’vien __________ Taliesin ____ __________________________ Gwedui. Yes, it was long-winded, and there were about four introductions to introductions, and a few tangents, and some of it seemed downright implausible and lacking in plot development - _______ Alu’vien _____________ Taliesin ___________ ________________________ _____________________________________ ____________ _______________________ _______ but it had told her just what she needed to hear. </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________</p>

<p>Alu’vien realized that her vows did not need to sound like some great work of literature, ___________________________________ _____________________________________  They needed to mean something to Vales. </p>

<p>And that she could do.</p>

<p>Taliesin ___________________________________ ____</p>

<p>_______ Alu’vien ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ ___________</p>

<p>Taliesin ___________________________________ __________________________ ___________ ___________________________________</p>

<p>Alu’vien just laughed. ___________________________________</p>

<p>___________ Taliesin ___________________________________ ____________________ _________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________</p>

<p>_________________ ______________________ </p>

<p>The scholar pulled a half-bound tome from one of the shelves and passed it to her. The cover read Compositions of the Great Orator, Lady Alu’vien of Valarien.</p>

<p>_________________ ________________ Taliesin ______________________ Alu’vien _______________________ ____________________ _________________ ___________________________________ __________________</p>

<p>Alu’vien ____________</p>

<p>__________________  Vales ___________________________________ ____________________ _________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ____________________________</p>

<p>Leave it to Taliesin to help cure her writer’s block and then make it five times worse. ____________________ _________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ____________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Do you know what happened at The Cat and the Fiddle? </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _________ </p>

<p>And there were Miss Dish and Sir Spoon. </p>

<p>Li’l Dog - ___________________________________ _____________________________________  Miss Dish had run away with Sir Spoon.</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  </p>

<p>__________________________________ Miss Dish was to wed with Duke Fork - a man about as lovely as raw pork, _________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>For all the reasons herewrit, and - most important in it, for the love of her dearest Sir Spoon, Miss Dish had protested _________________ _______</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>Miss Dish __________________ Duke Fork dare ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬______________ Sir Spoon.</p>

<p>____________________________________ Miss Dish and Sir Spoon made away. _______ ____________________________ _____________________________________ Teatown behind them, and Port Fiddle _________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>______________________ __________________ _______ ___________________ ___________ Li’l Dog ___________________________________ _________________________________ the town friar besides - he ran an inn on the side.</p>

<p>___________ Miss Dish and Sir Spoon ___________ _______ ___________________  Li’l Dog ___________ _______ ___________________  they said their vows, they kissed, and they bowed, and the cow jumped over the moon.</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________</p>

<p>*** </p>

<p>Peppa exploded. "This HAS to be where the waters swell! It's too hard to get to the ocean!"</p>

<p> Whims stepped back so far from Peppa's yelling that he almost fell over the bridge railing. This made Peppa laugh. It was a genuine laugh that turned into sobs. She tried to muffle them with her hands, but it was obvious that she was crying.</p>

<p> "Peppa," Whims tried to soothe. "We can look again tomorrow, when the sun is up. I don't think we'll be able to find it tonight. Not with how you are feeling."</p>

<p> Peppa replied but her hands muffled her response.</p>

<p> "What was that? You agree, great! Let's get you home."</p>

<p> Peppa's hands left her face and she gritted out a loud no to her future brother-in-law. "We can't leave until we find it."</p>

<p> "Why, Peppa? Why is this so important to you?"</p>

<p>Peppa just looked at him angrily. She stayed silent on her reasons. She knew that if he discovered she lost the vows, she'd be in big trouble.</p>

<p> "Is this note supposed to be a secret rendezvous with a new boyfriend?"</p>

<p> Peppa's face turned red at Whims's line of questioning. She stayed silent.</p>

<p> "A new girlfriend?" He paused. "Is this about meeting a dealer?"</p>

<p>Each question Whims threw at her made her face turn an even deeper shade of red. She felt so embarrassed and ashamed that he thought it was some romantic plot, but really she lost his and Paige's vows. </p>

<p>She blurted it out, her voice rising with every word. "I lost your vows and now there is some boy that deciphered my encryption on them and he's making me do a scavenger hunt to find them and-and we can't find the note!"</p>

<p> Whims tried to rub his ears discreetly. Peppa definitely noticed and apologized softly. Whims walked over to his future little sister and wrapped her in another hug.</p>

<p> "It's okay Peppa. We'll find the notes and the vows and I'll kick that little jerk’s butt, okay?"</p>

<p> Peppa nodded, rubbing her face on Whims' soft gray sweatshirt. She thought about that she might be rubbing her mascara on his sweatshirt, but couldn't remember if she put make-up on this morning.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Grishna held the vows in his hands. </p>

<p>One of Stephanie's cousins called out, "When were the banns posted?"</p>

<p> "Three months ago as is custom. It was posted in the Temple of Piyeen like all banns are," Grishna smugly replied. He knew the question was an attempt by the Greich family to invalidate the marriage and the vows given by the couple. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p> "Are we going to get another egg?"</p>

<p> These were the first words the love of my life spoke to me. We didn't know that those would be the first words to ignite a relationship so powerful between us. </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _______________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _______________________ _______________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ________________ Shelly Williams ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ___ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ______________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ________________________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ _________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ ____________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ __________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ __________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _______ </p>

<p>___________________________________ ___________________________!</p>

<p>*** </p>

<p>___________________________<br/>
_______________________<br/>
_________________________<br/>
___________________________</p>

<p>__________________<br/>
_____________________<br/>
______________________<br/>
_______________________</p>

<p>_________________________<br/>
_________________________<br/>
______________________________<br/>
___________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Right, so jumping off the back of a giant eagle while flying over a lake to avoid crash landing at full speed into the side of the cliff had sounded like a good idea, but as it turns out, the lake was really more of a very wide, very shallow puddle. It really was not deep enough to cushion the fall, and she was probably lucky to walk away with just a broken leg. Still, it wasn’t like she had many options. There were, after all, no slow fall spells in the real world, and she didn’t walk around with a parachute at all times either. </p>

<p>She hadn’t even been expecting to be picked up by the giant eagle, but that had been fortunate at the time, despite the rather painful ending. She had been in the middle of a forest, a safe little nook she had found a long time ago. Unfortunately, today, it was not quite as safe as she remembered. A pack of fire wolves invaded as they chased a winter stag. Fire wolves and trees do NOT mix well. The giant eagles just happened to pass over the forest just in time to save her from becoming charred nymph.</p>

<p>Apparently, she would have to start her vows over again. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ___</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Thelor had been taught since he was young not to trust demons. They were evil creatures, he was told, who would try to steal your soul any way they could. That was why he had mistrusted Anka at every step. </p>

<p>When he was separated from his scouting unit after being injured while fighting a pack of Rurin Orcs and Kosak Goblins in the Tres Losi Forest, he thought he would die before making it back to the village. Anka had saved him, stopped the bleeding, bandaged his wounds, ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ______________________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _______________________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ __________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ ________________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Mela tossed the crumpled paper in the air and sent a flicker of flame to destroy it once again. Every time he tried to write his vows, it started to sound like he was writing some sort of ritual to bind a seleneste. Considering that Nona was half seleneste, that seemed in poor taste.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>“Hiram atshal sakin, Zenli.” the Seer greeted. “How can I help you, young one?”</p>

<p>“Hiram atshal sakin, Seer.” Zenli shuffled in place, not sure whether to ask the question or not. “I want- no I need- that is -ugh!”</p>

<p>The Seer chuckled, placing a calming hand on Zenli’s shoulder. “Only you know what to say in your vows, Zenli. Look in your heart and you will find the words.” </p>

<p>Zenli ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________ _________________ Zenli _________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ ___________________________</p>

<p>_____________________ Zenli ___________________________________ ______ _______________________________  ___________________________________ ______ __________</p>

<p>__________________ Zenli asked, sipping the runeberry tea carefully to avoid a burnt tongue. The warm, not-too-sweet tea settled the nerves that had been making Zenli tense for days, just as the Seer’s tea always did. Zenli was still not convinced the Seer didn’t use magic in the tea.</p>

<p>_______________________________  ____ Zenli. “Now, close your eyes for a moment. _____ _______________________  ___________________________________ ______ You are in the forest, beside the clear stream. The birds are chirping high up in the trees and the scent of the lavender fields wafts on the gentle breeze. Raenei is sitting on the hollow log and the two of you are talking about your day. The light of the sun peeks through the trees and lands on Raenei’s seated form as a smile graces Raenei’s lips…. You feel a need to tell Raenei of your love again, to make sure Raenei knows….”</p>

<p>Words began bubbling to the surface of Zenli’s thoughts, the words Zenli had been looking for. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>“You two are definitely made for each other.”</p>

<p>What do you mean?</p>

<p>“Doesn’t matter. Look, your name isn’t Joe, you are not a farmer, you are not marrying a princess, and she was not your childhood friend.”</p>

<p>And? I don’t see the problem. It’s touching.</p>

<p>“And it has nothing to do with your relationship. Try again.”</p>

<p>But-</p>

<p>“Look, what was it about Brianna that made you fall in love.”</p>

<p>Well, there are a lot of things. Briana has a beautiful heart, and even when she was in a bad place, she still helped others every chance she could. She encouraged me in little ways here and there, made me feel cared for, and I always knew she would be there when I needed her. She was everything I could ever ask for, and I want to be that for her.</p>

<p>“See, you don’t need some story about a farmer and princess to write your vows.”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________ Alu’vien _________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>In the end, Alu’vien ________________ _____________________________________ Vales. ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ __ Vales _____________________________ ______ _____________________________________  __________</p>

<p>Alu’vien felt her pointy ears turn red as she blushed.</p>

<p>She was glad Taliesin convinced her to keep that sentence in her vows.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Little Bo Peep had lost her sheep _______</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ____________________________</p>

<p>______________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ ______________ so Little Bo Peep took up her shepherd’s crook and headed to the pasture next door.</p>

<p>“Little Boy Blue!” ___________________________________ ______________</p>

<p>_____________</p>

<p>_____________________ This had happened before.</p>

<p>___________________________________ ______________ but where was Little Boy Blue? __________________________</p>

<p>Little Bo Peep ___________________________________ ______________________ Little Boy Blue. ___________________________________ ______________________________ _______ _____________</p>

<p>_______ _____________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _______</p>

<p>“Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum!” She called out. “Have you seen Little Boy Blue? ______________________________”</p>

<p>The twins pointed to a haystack under which, barely visible, Little Boy Blue lay fast asleep. </p>

<p>“Will you wake him?” She asked.</p>

<p>“Oh no, not I!” Tweedle Dee gave reply.</p>

<p>“For if I wake him, surely he’ll cry!” Tweedle Dum explained.</p>

<p>Little Bo Peep ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________</p>

<p>“Little Boy Blue!” Little Bo Peep ___________________________________ ________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ___</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ________________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ ______________________________</p>

<p>Little Boy Blue awoke from his nap now that the warm hay was not on his back. He sat up where he was and looked at Little Bo Peep. ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>______ Little Bo Peep gave a sigh. ______________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>_________ Little Boy Blue said with a smile, _________________ ______________________ _______________ He produced from his pocket a hay-filled horn, shook his head and tried again. Out came a ring which he placed on her finger while smiling. “We’ve played this game plenty of times: You lose your sheep and then I lose mine. _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ my Little Bo Peep. It is in my heart, and I hope in yours too, that I wish of our pastures to make one, not keep two.”</p>

<p>Little Bo Peep blushed and smiled. “Yes.” She replied.</p>

<p>And so they were wed, and their sheep were well fed on grass in one pasture - the fence long forgotten. And in their vows, the two shepherds declared, ___________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>


<h3><strong>28 November 2020</strong></h3>



<h3><strong>29 November 2020</strong></h3>

Peppa decided that if she left make-up on his sweatshirt that she'd wash it and explain to Paige what a good guy her fiancé is. 

<p>Whims was talking to her but she couldn't hear it over her now stuffy nose. </p>

<p> "What did you say? I missed it."</p>

<p> "I said, Peppa, why don't we check the willow that's closer to the creek bank than the bridge over the lake. If I remember correctly there were always marks on the tree because of flooding."</p>

<p> "That makes sense," Peppa nodded and moved out of the hug that had comforted her just moments ago. As she moved away, she took a glance to see if Whims' sweatshirt was stained. It wasn't. Good, she didn't want to explain to Paige about what they were doing and make-up and ugh. Peppa was just done with today.</p>

<p>She trudged over to the willow. There was a blanket beneath the tree. And a note in the center of the blanket! Hallelujah! Wait, no. Peppa needs the vows not a note.</p>

<p>Peppa growled in frustration.</p>

<p> "Whoa, Peppa. There is a note. Why don't you open it before going all growly to the air, yeah?" Whims stated, once again resting his hands comfortingly on Peppa's shoulders. </p>

<p>Peppa shrugged him off and picked up the note. She ripped the note open, careful to not tear the paper. </p>

<p> "__________________<br/>
______________<br/>
__________<br/>
_________________<br/>
____________<br/>
__________________<br/>
________________________<br/>
________________________<br/>
_______________________."</p>

<p> Peppa gaped at the note. 'Wha-date? What?'</p>

<p> "What does the note say Peppa?" Whims attempted to read it over her shoulder. </p>

<p> She wordlessly handed it to him.</p>

<p> "So much for not being a rendezvous?" Whims laughed.</p>

<p> Peppa still silent but mouth closed now, lightly backhanded his arm and pointed at the last line.</p>

<p> "You want me to take you there?"</p>

<p> She nodded.</p>

<p>"Okay, to the Sugar Shack we go!"</p>

<p> ***</p>

<p> "____________________________ _______________________ Jessie. _____________ __________________."</p>

<p> ***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  _________________________ </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ________________________________ Honestly, why did everything have to be so complicated? </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ ____________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  _____________.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ______________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ______________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _______________ Maybe she could go undercover. ___________________________________ _______________________ ______________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ ___________.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  _______________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  __________________________________ She’d figure out a long-term solution later.</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  __________________________________.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  __________________________________ _____ </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ ________________________ </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ______________ Really, it would take more than a blizzard to hurt her. _____________ ________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________  ______________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>When Zathry vowed to love her to the moon and back at their wedding, she hadn’t expected it to be quite so literal. Then again, she hadn’t expected him to be from the moon either or to have a private teleporter pad they could use to go there and back in an instant, or to have the ability to share a piece of his soul with her so she could walk around on the moon without a spacesuit. Well, she loved him to the moon and back too.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>_______________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ ___________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ ______________________ </p>

<p>_________________ </p>

<p>She shot up in an instant, looking frantically for the wig that the voice told her fell off. </p>

<p>_________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>They said their vows to each other under the cherry tree.</p>

<p>Lady Rorne used to hide under the cherry tree when she wanted to get away from her parents and the life they dictated for her, and Nile would go there every now and then to rest and have his lunch. After a few chance meetings, the two found themselves going to the cherry tree on a more and more regular schedule. Nile would bring just a little too much food, and Lady Rorne would just happen to have brought two copies of her book. It was always just an accident, of course. A happy coincidence, they always said.</p>

<p>Still, coincidence couldn’t explain why Lady Rorne came even when it was pouring rain, or why Nile did too. But even that, they would say was because they liked the rain - it was refreshing, they always said. It confused the servants to no end when Lady Rorne just smiled and laughed when she caught a cold the next day, and Nile’s mother was beside herself trying to understand why her son smiled despite his fever.</p>

<p>Perhaps that was why today when they said their vows under the cherry tree, they both vowed to love each other unconditionally and to have many more coincidences. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  _____________________________</p>

<p>Well, whatever. It wasn’t like she had any plans on Fridays anyway.</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _____________________________________  _________________</p>


<h3><strong>30 November 2020</strong></h3>

Rionora closed her wings tightly around Seydon and herself as she desperately tried to shield his body from the flames. She was resistant to them, but he was not, and he was already far too injured. Blood still trickled out of the wounds on his shoulder and back, and she didn’t even want to think about what happened to his leg. He needed a healer, but the humans would attack her on sight if she tried to find one. 

<p>Gornash ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________  ___________________________________ ___ Seydon _________________ __________________ _____________________________________  _________________ __________________ __________________________</p>

<p>________________ She had wanted Gornash’s blessing before they said their vows since he was like a father to her, but he had been enraged by the idea of Rionora marrying a human and attacked Seydon. While Seydon defended himself, he refused to go on the offensive and injure someone Rionora cared about, __________________ ___________________________ __________  _________________ __________________ _______ Gornash, ____________ ______________ Gornash _________________________ Seydon ________ </p>

<p>_______ Gornash ____________________ Rionora couldn’t believe it. ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _________________________ Seydon’s leg. ___________________________________ ________ Seydon’s ______</p>

<p>________ Gornash only roared and lashed out at her, calling her a betrayer of her kin, ______ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ Gornash ________________________ _________________________________ _______________________ Seydon _______</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  __________ dragon medicine would be more likely to kill him than heal him. It had to be a human village. ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________ __________________________________</p>

<p>________ Seydon ___________________, Rionora __________________________ _________ _____________________________________ _____________________ Gornash, _________ _____________________________________ ______ Seydon. </p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  ___________________________________ _________________________ She hoped that somewhere in his unconscious mind, he would hear them and remember them when he woke up.</p>

<p>As she predicted, the guards started shooting arrows as soon as they spotted her. She managed to dodge most of them, but a few hit their mark, one in her already injured left shoulder, one in her right thigh, and three in her right wing. The shots to her wing threw her flight off-balance, and she realized she would crash into the statue at the center of the village. She barely managed to turn in time to prevent Seydon from getting hurt by the impact, but in doing so she hit her head hard and everything went dark.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ____</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________________ _______ They had their own territory three states over, so they could just stay there.</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ __________________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Doran ____________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _________________________________ Seydon _________________ ___________ __________________________ _________________________________, Doran ___________________________________ _____________________</p>

<p>He called for someone to get the healer while he carefully tried to release Seydon from the dragon-girl’s grip. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but getting answers had to wait for now.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _________. It wouldn’t work out well for the best man to be locked in the bride’s dungeon.</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ _________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>When Seydon awoke, his first thoughts were of Rionora. The last thing he remembered was Gornash lunging toward her. ___________________________________ _____ Doran’s _____ ___________________________________ _____________________________________  Seydon had to find Rionora. ___________________________</p>

<p>___________________________  Doran ___________________________ _____ Hanley’s ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _______________________ Hanley’s healing magic started spilling from her fingers. </p>

<p>_______________________ Doran ___________________________________ _______________________ Hardon ___________________________________ __________ Seydon ___________________________________ __________. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________________________________ _________________ She had already installed a full suite with a kitchenette in her dungeon so his sidekick would be fine if it wasn’t a Friday. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Doran was at a loss. Hanley had had to use a combination of rest-inducing healing magic and herbs with a sedative effect to put Seydon to sleep so he would stop trying to get up. _______ ____________________________ _____________________________________ ________ ___________________________ _____________________________________ Doran ___________________________ </p>

<p>_____________________ Doran ___________________________________ _____________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ____________ _________________________ ___________________________________ __________ ___________________________ _________________ Seydon, and Doran ___________________________</p>

<p>_____ Seydon _____________________ Hardon __________ Hanley _______________ Doran _________________________ ___________________________________ __________ __________ Doran ___________________________________ ________________________ _____________ ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________ ___________________________________ _____________________________</p>

<p>_____________ ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________ ___________________________________ _______________ Lorne _________ ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________ __________ She never stopped worrying about him, but at the end of the day, she trusted his judgement. That was one of the reasons he’d married her.</p>

<p>___________________________________ ________________________ _____________ ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________ ___________________________________ _____________________________ Then she sniffed the air a few times before asking if Seydon was okay.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>By the light of the most sacred moon and the breath of the most blessed wind, I vow to love you forever and to remain true to you. With the stars as witness, this I promise.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>______________ Seydon’s ___________________________________ _________________ ____________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ ____________________ _________________  Seydon _____________________________ ____________________  Right now, Seydon was more important.</p>

<p>_____________________________ ________________ Seydon. ____________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ ____________________ Rionora _____________ ______________________ ______________Seydon ______________________</p>

<p>___________________________________ ________________________ _____________ ___________________________________ ___________________________ __________ ___________________________________ ___________ Seydon, ____________________ _______________ ________________________ _____________ ____________ _______________________ ___________________________ </p>

<p>___________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________ Seydon ___________________ _________________________ __________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________________ ________ ___________________ __________________ ____________________________ _____</p>

<p>___________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________  ___________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________  _______________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________  </p>

<p>_______________ __________________ ___________________________ Seydon. ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________  _______________ ________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>As the sea joins the sky, so too does my soul join with yours. I vow to cherish this bond and nourish it through love and tender care all the days of my life. Should you pass beyond the veil to Shalvaroth, I will live with your soul in my heart until I too may join you in my time, and if I pass beyond the veil to Shalvaroth, I promise to prepare a place for when you come to join me in your time. My heart belonged to you from the moment we first met, and now my soul is yours as well.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>_______________ ______________, Doran  ___________________________________ ________________ Seydon. He was surprised, though, that he wasn’t really surprised. Somehow, it made sense. ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ____________ Seydon __________________ ___________________________________ </p>

<p>__________________ ___________________________________ __________________  _______________ If Lorne was injured, even if somebody told him she was fine, he’d want to see her to make sure. Hanley __________________ __________________________  __________________  _______________</p>

<p>__________________ ___________________________________ _______ Doran _______ Rionora - __________________ ___________________________________ _______ Seydon’s ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________  ___________________ ___________________________________ __________________  Hanley __________________________________. _______________ ___________________ _____________________. She saw an injured person, and made it her job to fix that as best she could.</p>

<p>Rionora _________________________ Hanley __________________________________ Seydon’s _________________________________ Hanley ____________________ Doran ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________ __________________ Hanley ___________________ Hanley __________________ ___________________ _____</p>

<p>____________ Seydon ________________________ Rionora ____________________ __________________ Doran _________________________________________________ __________ Seydon _____________________________________________ Hanley, and Hardon _______.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Hope looked up into his eyes and vowed with her entire being to give her all to support him, to help him in both the good times and the bad times, to remain with him in sickness and in health, to fill his heart every day, and to never leave him. With this vow, she prayed he would remember her no matter what may come.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>___________________ __________________ ___________________________ Doran, Hanley, and Seydon ___________ ___________________________ Rionora ___________ ___________________________ ____________ Seydon ___________________ ______ __________ ___________________________________ __________________ Gornash ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________ __________________ </p>

<p>___________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________________________ __________________  ___________________ ___________________________________ __________________  Seydon ___________________ ___________________________________ __________________ ___________________ ___________________________________ ___________________ __________________ ________________ to Doran and Lorne ______ ____________ ___________________ ___________________________________ Gornash ____________ ____________ </p>

<p>Lorne ____________ ______________ Doran ____ Hanley ________. She told Rionora that if Doran said she was a good one, she was a good one, and no one’d be able to convince her otherwise. She’s even defended Rionora a few times when some of the villagers got too vocal about their dislike of her presence for Lorne’s taste. Lorne _____________ Rionora ________ _______________ Gornash’s __________________ ___________________ ______________ _____________________ ___________________ Rionora ___________________________ _____________________ Seydon __________________ ___________________ ___________________________________ ______ Seydon, Gornash __________________ ___________________ ___________________________________ ______________</p>

<p>______________ Doran and Lorne’s ___________________ _________________________ __________ __________________ ___________________ ____________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________  ___________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________ ___________________  Seydon _____________</p>

<p>________________________ Seydon _________  ___________________ __________ ____________  Rionora and Doran _________________________ __________________ _________ Doran ___ ___________________ ____________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ Rashnor, __________ Gornash  ___________________ ____________________ __________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________  ___________________ ______________________  Seydon too. </p>

<p>It took about a month to reach the place Rashnor was staying without being able to fly or ride a horse - the creatures seemed to despise her on principle. ______________ Seydon ________ but Doran __________ ___________________ __________________ _________________ _____ _____________  Rashnor ___________ __________________ _________________  ___________ ________________ Gornash, __ __________________ _________________   ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________  ___________________ ____________ Rashnor ______________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ _________</p>

<p>___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ _____________ Rashnor’s _____ __________________ ______________________ _____________  Seydon, and Hanley ___________________ ____________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________  ___________________ ______________________  Rashnor _______________ Hanley _______________________________ </p>

<p>________________ Seydon and Rionora officially made their vows to each other. Seydon had brought her to tears with his vows. __________________ Rashnor ____________ __________ __________________ ___________________ ____________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________  ___________________ ______________________</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Risa refused to give up. __________________ ___________________ __________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________ ____</p>

<p>_____________ __________________</p>

<p>_______________ ___________________ _______________</p>

<p>“What are you doing?” The woman yelled and laughed all at once. “That was a nice teapot! And it won’t help you anyway.”</p>

<p>Risa _______________ ___________________ __________________ “I still have to try.”</p>

<p>__________________ ___________________ ____________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ _______________</p>

<p>“Do what you will.” The woman shrugged. “It is only a matter of time.”</p>

<p>Risa __________________ ___________________ ____________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ _____________ __________________  ___________________ ___ laughed bitterly. “Do you really think that he’ll marry you after this?”</p>

<p>“Oh, I’ve given up on that.” The woman replied, a sneer in her voice. “I just don’t want him to marry you either.”</p>

<p>“Why?” Risa __ __________________  _______________________</p>

<p>__________________ ___________________ ____________________ _______________ ___________________ __________________ ______________________ ________ The woman stood up from her place on the sofa and approached Risa. ______________________ _____________</p>

<p>__________ Risa muttered. ___________________ _____________________________ ______ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________________________ ___ __________________  ___________________ _________________________________ ________  </p>

<p>___ __________________  ___________________ _______________</p>

<p>“And what?!” Risa screamed. ______ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________________________ ___ __________________  ___________________ _________________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________________________ ___ __________________  ______________</p>

<p>Risa sighed and tore a scrap of cloth off her wedding dress - it was tea- and blood-stained now anyway - and used it to bandage her bleeding hands. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬__________________________</p>

<p>_____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________________________ ___ __________________  ___________________ __________________</p>

<p>Risa glared at the woman. “I don’t expect you’ve made that possible.”</p>

<p>______ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________________________ ___ __________________  ___________________ _______________________</p>

<p>Risa __________________  _____________</p>

<p>“Risa!” She heard a voice shouting from the other side of the door - his voice.</p>

<p>“Lionel!” __________________  _____________</p>

<p>“Risa! ______ __________________ ___________________ _______________________ ______ ______ ___________________ __________________ _______________________ _________ ___ __________________  ___________________ ___________</p>

<p>Risa _________ ___ __________________  ___________________ __________. “Lionel, ______ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________________________ ___ __________________  ___________________ _________________________________ ________</p>

<p>“______ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________ I now pronounce you husband and wife. Once you get that door open, you may kiss the bride.”</p>

<p>Risa could hardly believe her ears. Lionel ______ ___________________ __________</p>

<p>_____ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ ___________________</p>

<p>Risa hadn’t thought it was possible to shout calmly before this moment. _________________ __________________ ___________________ _____________ Risa ___________________ __________________ ___________________</p>

<p>____________ Risa __________________ ___________________ _____________</p>

<p>“The moment you break this door down,” the woman shouted to Lionel, “is the moment your wedding day becomes a funeral.”</p>

<p>“Fiona! __________________ ___________________ __________________” Lionel ________ _______</p>

<p>_____________________________ The woman pressed the knife against Risa’s throat.</p>

<p>Realization dawned on Risa __________________ ___________________ _______________ ______________________ Lionel _________ ___________________ _______________ ______________________</p>

<p>______________________ Risa ___________</p>

<p>_____ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ _________</p>

<p>“Risa! What’s happening?” Lionel shouted through the door.</p>

<p>____________________ Risa lied. “There aren’t any weapons in here for her to hurt me with.”</p>

<p>“Take that back.” __________________ ___________________ ___________________ _____________Risa’s ______________</p>

<p>“Never.” Risa spat. </p>

<p>__________________ ___________________ ________ Risa. ______________________ Risa ________________ Risa _____________________________________</p>

<p>Risa stepped on the woman’s foot. _____________________________________________ _______________________________ The knife came dangerously close to actually doing irreparable damage to Risa’s throat _____________________________________ Risa _________________________ The rest was a simple matter of martial arts - something Risa excelled in. ______________________________ with Risa __________________________ __________________________</p>

<p>________________________________ Risa spotted Lionel __________________________ ______ __________________ ___________________ _____________________________ ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________________________ ___ __________________  ___________________ _________________________________</p>

<p>“Risa!” Lionel ______ ___________________ __________________ ________________ ________________ ___ __________________  ___________________ ______________ ______________</p>

<p>The priest chuckled. “Well, this is certainly the most unique wedding I have ever officiated.”</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Ten minutes after finding the note under the willow, Peppa and Whims pulled up to the Sugar Shack. The Sugar Shack was well-known in their little hometown, it also boasted of being the best ice cream for 20 miles. It was true, but it was also the only ice cream place for miles.</p>

<p>Whims kicked Peppa out of the car. </p>

<p>“This guy wants to see you, not your older brother,” he stated emphatically, literally unbuckling her seatbelt and gently pushing her towards the car door. </p>

<p>Peppa left the car, knees shaking slightly, her gait unsteady and hands trembling. She still held the note in her hand as she walked through the door.<br/>
Someone raised a hand waving to her. She couldn’t make out who it was because there were so many people on a date or with their families. Peppa walked towards the waving hand. She still couldn’t see the person waving, but that seemed intentional somehow. She got past the last group of people and it was him! It was the boy!</p>

<p>Peppa saw red and opened her mouth to unleash on him. But he interrupted her.</p>

<p>“Hi, I’m James. I accidentally kidnapped your pages?” He had stood up and offered me a seat. He threw me off guard. </p>

<p>And that is how I met James and why he vowed to never create me another scavenger hunt again.</p>

<p>The END</p></strong></h3></strong>
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